All divorces can be revoked in 90 days, rules SC

States Section 7 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 applies to all forms of talaq

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court has ruled that a divorce can be revoked within 90 days regardless of its form under Section 7 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 (MFLO).

The court has clarified that Section 7 of the MFLO applies to all forms of talaq, including talaq-e-bidat — instant triple talaq.

Section 7(1) of the MFLO provides that when a husband pronounces "talaq in any form whatsoever", he is under a statutory obligation to provide written notice of such pronouncement to the wife and deliver a copy to the wife.

Section 7(3) then provides that the talaq, unless revoked earlier expressly or otherwise, shall not take effect until the expiry of ninety days from the date on which the notice was delivered.

According to a verdict issued by a three-member bench, divorce does not take effect immediately upon pronouncement and it becomes effective only after 90 days, unless earlier revoked.

The verdict penned by Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui relied on earlier landmark rulings to emphasize that the legislation aims to prevent hasty or impulsive divorces and provide a reconciliation window.

The court also ruled that a wife with delegated right of divorce has the same powers as a husband.

Under Section 8 of the MFLO, when the husband delegates the right of divorce to the wife, she becomes entitled to exercise it with all rights and limitations applicable to the husband.

The case

Petitioner Muhammad Hassan Sultan and Morial Shah married in 2016 and later lived in New York. The husband had delegated an unconditional right of divorce to the wife through clause 18 of the nikahnama — a legal option available in Pakistan.

In June 2023, marital problems emerged, and the wife returned to Karachi with their young daughter.

On July 3, 2023, she issued a notice of divorce under Section 7(1) of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 (MFLO).

Under the law, a divorce does not take effect immediately and becomes effective only after 90 days from the date of notice, unless the parties reconcile or the initiating party revokes the divorce.

During this period, the husband filed custody proceedings in a New York court, which ordered the wife and the child to return to New York.

Following this, on August 10, 2023, the wife withdrew her divorce notice. The Arbitration Council chairman in Karachi accepted the withdrawal and disposed of the proceedings on August 11, 2023 ("First Order").

Later, on August 23, 2023, the husband attempted to issue his own divorce notice under Section 7.

In this second set of proceedings, the local Union Committee eventually concluded that he lacked jurisdiction because the wife was residing in New York and, under the rules and a government SRO, divorce proceedings involving overseas spouses must be handled by the Pakistan Mission abroad.

The chairman therefore disposed of this second case on January 3, 2024 ("Second Order").

The petitioner challenged both orders before the Sindh High Court, but his constitutional petition was dismissed. He then appealed to the Supreme Court.

One of the legal questions before the SC was whether a divorce (talaq) initiated in any form can be revoked within the 90-day period under Section 7 of the MFLO;

The court had also to decide whether the same rule applies to a divorce initiated by a wife exercising delegated powers — ie, whether she too can revoke it.

It also needed to answer whether the Arbitration Council in Karachi had jurisdiction to handle the husband's second divorce notice when the wife was living in New York and whether the wife's withdrawal was mala fide because she later filed divorce proceedings in New York.

The SC in its verdict ruled that the wife could issue notice under Section 7(1); allow the 90-day period to run, and revoke the divorce any time before the 90 days expire.

It said since the delegation in this case was expressly "unconditional", the wife also possessed the right to revoke the divorce. It, however, declared that the Karachi Arbitration Council lacked jurisdiction in the husband's later divorce notice.

Rule 3(b) of the MFLO Rules states that jurisdiction in divorce matters lies with the Union Council where the wife is residing at the time of pronouncement.

At that time, the wife was undisputedly living in New York.

Under an SRO issued by the federal government, Pakistan's foreign missions act as Arbitration Councils for matters involving Pakistanis abroad. Therefore, only the Pakistan Mission in New York could handle the husband's divorce notice.

The Supreme Court held that motives or later actions of the wife — such as filing proceedings abroad — cannot undermine a lawful revocation within the 90-day period. Neither the Arbitration Council nor the SHC, in constitutional jurisdiction, could consider such allegations.