The states section 7 of the Muslim Family Law 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 Law 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 required to give written notice of such pronouncement to the wife and deliver a copy to the wife.
Section 7(3) then provides that talaq, unless earlier revoked expressly or otherwise, does not take effect until the expiry of ninety days from the date on which the notice was delivered.
According to a judgment handed down by a three-judge court, divorce does not take effect immediately after it is pronounced, and it does not take effect until 90 days later, unless earlier revoked.
The judgment written by Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui drew on previous landmark rulings to emphasize that the legislation aims to prevent hasty or impulsive divorces and provide a window of reconciliation.
The court also held that a wife with a delegated divorce has the same powers as a husband.
According to Section 8 of the MFLO, when the husband delegates the right to divorce to the wife, she becomes entitled to exercise it with all the 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 in Pakistan.
In June 2023, marital problems surfaced and the wife returned to Karachi with their young daughter.
On 3 July 2023, she issued a notice of divorce under Section 7(1) of the Muslim Family Law Ordinance, 1961 (MFLO).
According to the law, a divorce does not take effect immediately and does not become effective until 90 days from the date of notification, unless the parties settle or the initiating party revokes the divorce.
During this period, the husband filed a custody case in a New York court, which ordered the wife and child to return to New York.
The wife then withdrew her divorce notice on 10 August 2023. The Chairman of the Arbitral Tribunal in Karachi accepted the withdrawal and disposed of the proceedings on 11 August 2023 (“First Order”).
Later, on 23 August 2023, the husband attempted to issue his own section 7 divorce notice.
In this second set of proceedings, the local union committee eventually concluded that he lacked jurisdiction because the wife was a resident of New York and under the rules and a state SRO, divorce proceedings involving overseas spouses must be handled by the Pakistani mission abroad.
The President therefore decided this second case on January 3, 2024 (“second ruling”).
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 issues before the SC was whether a divorce (talaq) commenced in any form can be revoked within the 90-day period under Section 7 of the MFLO;
The court also had to decide whether the same rule applies to a divorce initiated by a wife exercising delegated powers – ie. whether she can also revoke it.
It also had to answer whether the Arbitral Tribunal in Karachi had jurisdiction to deal with the husband’s second divorce notice as the wife lived in New York and whether the wife’s withdrawal was mala fide because she later filed for divorce in New York.
The SC decided in its judgment that the wife could issue a notice in accordance with § 7, subsection allow the 90-day period to run and revoke the divorce at any time before the 90 days are up.
It said that since the delegation in this case was expressly “unconditional”, the wife also had the right to revoke the divorce. However, it 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 proceedings lies with the Union Council where the wife resides at the time of the award.
At the time, the wife undisputedly lived in New York.
Under an SRO issued by the federal government, Pakistan’s foreign missions act as arbitration boards for cases involving Pakistanis abroad. Therefore, only the Pakistan mission in New York could handle the husband’s divorce notice.
The Supreme Court ruled that the wife’s motives or subsequent actions — such as filing a lawsuit abroad — cannot undermine a lawful revocation within the 90-day period. Neither the Arbitration Council nor the SHC, in constitutional jurisdiction, could consider such claims.
