MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court recently observed that though a husband is entitled to polygamous marriage under Islamic Law, he is obligated to treat all his wives equally. A bench of justices RMT Teekaa Raman and PB Balaji observed while dismissing an appeal filed by a man against an order passed by a Family Court in Tirunelveli dissolving the marriage between him and his first wife in March this year. The bench noted that the man had behaved cruelly towards his first wife and had not treated her on par with his second wife. He has also not paid maintenance amount to her for two years, it noted.
"As a husband, he is duty bound to maintain the plaintiff (first wife) even while she was with her parents. If at all he is aggrieved by her separation, then he should have taken measures for reunion and if it fails then on reasonable ground, he can pronounce Talaq as per the Personal Law. In this case, no such act was done by the defendant (husband)," the judges observed. They also referred to the right of muslim women to live separately when congenial atmosphere is not available in the matrimonial home and refused to interfere with the Family Court's order.
The Family Court had passed the order on a petition filed by the man's first wife for dissolution of marriage. The marriage between her and her husband was solemnised on January 3, 2016. She claimed that she suffered physical and mental cruelty at the hands of her husband and in-laws and thus left to her parents' house. While her plea seeking maintenance and her domestic violence complaint were pending, her husband had moved a suit for restitution of conjugal rights, which was allowed in 2021. But shortly after that, he married another woman, she added. Alleging cruelty and unequal treatment, she filed the divorce plea. However, her husband denied the allegations of cruelty. He contended that merely because he married another woman, the first wife cannot seek the relief of divorce.