Unit 1 of Family Law I (Muslim, Parsi and Christian Law; Indian Succession Act) (syllabus: Module 1 — Shariat Act 1937; sources and schools; nikah, kinds of marriage, iddat, muta, option of puberty, mehr). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.
What this unit covers
- Why does an Indian court apply the Shariat at all, and what has since been read out of the section that tells it to?
- Can a Hindu husband convert to Islam in order to take a second wife?
- What must actually be proved before a court will hold that a nikah took place?
- A Sunni man marries his wife's sister while the first marriage subsists. Is the second marriage void, or something less?
- A girl married in infancy was subjected to intercourse before she turned fifteen. Has she lost the option of puberty?
- Can a wife refuse to live with her husband until the prompt dower is paid, and what happens after consummation?
- A widow is in possession of her late husband's property because her dower was never paid. Can the heirs turn her out, and can she sell?
Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.
Provisions
- Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act 1937, s. s. 2
- Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act 1937, s. s. 2 (the words where the parties are Muslims)
- Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act 1937, s. s. 2 (marriage) — the substantive rules are uncodified
- Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act 1937, s. s. 2 (marriage and maintenance) — the grades of marriage are uncodified
- Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939, s. s. 2(vii)
- Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act 1937, s. s. 2 (dower) — the rules of mehr are uncodified
- Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act 1937, s. s. 2 (dower) — the right of retention is uncodified
Leading cases
- Shayara Bano v Union of India
- Sarla Mudgal v Union of India
- Ghulam Kubra Bibi v Mohammad Shafi
- Chand Patel v Bismillah Begum
- Ghulam Sakina v Falak Sher
- Anis Begum v Muhammad Istafa Wali Khan
- Maina Bibi v Vakil Ahmad
Full case summaries
- Ghulam Kubra Bibi v Mohammad Shafi (Peshawar, 1940) — a nikah must be proved, witnesses and all
- Chand Patel v Bismillah Begum (Supreme Court, 2008) — marrying the wife's sister is irregular, not void
- Masroor Ahmed v State (Delhi High Court, 2008) — a talaq not communicated is no talaq, and even three pronouncements are one