Arbitration council’s nod must for second marriage: IHC

Court overturns verdict for acquittal of a man who remarried without council’s consent

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday ruled that permission from an arbitration council is a must for the second marriage as it overturned verdict of a sessions court with regard to acquittal of a man who had remarried without getting permission from the first wife and the council.

Issuing a 12-page verdict on a petition filed by a woman, Dilshad Bibi, against acquittal of her husband, Liaquat Ali Mir, the court declared that if the arbitration council does not give permission for the second marriage despite the wife’s permission then the person maybe be sentenced or fined or both.

The IHC Chief Justice Athar Minullah, who wrote the verdict, also directed the additional sessions judge to hear the case of second marriage on merit and announce a verdict again.

Dilshad Bibi and Liaquat Ali Mir married in 2011. However, Mir remarried in 2013 without permission from Bibi and the arbitration council.  A magistrate in Islamabad sentenced Mir to one-month imprisonment and Rs5,000 fine on complaint of his first wife.

An additional sessions judge, however, acquitted Liaquat Ali Mir due to his being a resident of the Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK). In the written decision, it was declared that all laws of the country are applicable to those who possess the Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC).

The IHC, however, overturned the decision saying that the marriage was registered in Islamabad and the court has complete jurisdiction to adjudicate the issue.

According to the Muslim family law ordinance 1961, a request seeking permission for the second marriage has to be given to chairman arbitration council and if it refuses permission despite permission from wife, the person who marries again will be sentenced to one-year imprisonment and a fine.