The Madhya Pradesh High Court has ruled that no declaration of divorce can be granted solely on the basis of a Fatwa issued by a seminary, holding that such a religious opinion merely explains the position under Islamic scriptures and does not by itself dissolve a marriage. The ruling came on 6 August when a single-judge Bench of Justice Vivek Jain allowed a civil revision petition filed by a woman whose husband had approached the Family Court seeking a divorce declaration on the strength of a Fatwa issued by the Darul-Ifta Masajid Committee, Bhopal.

Background of the Case

The husband had filed a plaint before the Family Court seeking a declaration that his marriage stood dissolved on the basis of a Fatwa dated 29 October 2024. The wife contested the plea, arguing that the seminary had no authority to grant divorce and that the Fatwa only referenced the circumstances under Islamic law in which a divorce could be sought — not an actual dissolution of the marital bond.

The High Court agreed with the wife's position after examining the Fatwa in detail.

What the Court Found

'This Court has gone through the said Fatwa and the said Fatwa nowhere mentions divorce to be granted and indeed any seminary cannot grant any divorce to a Muslim male,' Justice Jain stated in the order.

The court further noted: 'The said Fatwa only mentions the provisions in the Islamic scriptures which give guidance in such situation when there is cruel conduct of the wife.' On that basis, the High Court held that the husband had filed the suit under a misconception that a regular divorce petition was not maintainable before a civil court.

Legal Remedy Preserved for the Husband

Critically, the court did not leave the husband without recourse. Invoking Order 7 Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the court rejected the plaint for disclosing no valid legal cause of action — but simultaneously clarified that the husband retains the right to file a properly constituted divorce petition before the Family Court in accordance with law.

'It is made clear that this order would not affect the right of the respondent-husband to file a newly constituted divorce petition before the Family Court and he would be having liberty to file such a divorce petition as per law,' the order said.

Precedent on Muslim Personal Law in Family Courts

The High Court also referred to an earlier Division Bench ruling to underscore that the question of whether divorce proceedings by Muslim men are maintainable before Family Courts is no longer an open legal question. That earlier judgment had held that proceedings arising out of Muslim personal law are maintainable under Section 7 of the Family Courts Act, 1984, and that a Muslim male cannot be denied access to a judicial forum for dissolution of marriage.

The court drew a clear distinction between a decree of divorce sought through due legal process and a declaration of divorce sought solely on the basis of a religious opinion — affirming the former while rejecting the latter.

Significance of the Ruling

The judgment reinforces the principle that religious opinions issued by seminaries, while carrying scriptural weight for the community, carry no independent legal force to dissolve a civil institution such as marriage. This comes amid broader judicial scrutiny of personal law practices in India, with courts consistently holding that statutory forums — not religious bodies — are the appropriate venues for adjudicating matrimonial disputes. The ruling is expected to have persuasive value in similar cases where Fatwa-based divorce declarations are contested before Family Courts across the country.