Second Marriage Without the Wife's Permission

Question: If a husband contracts a second marriage without his wife's permission, what remedy is available under the law? What action can be taken?

Answer: This law is quite old, but it has become prominent in the media. Section 6 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961 deals with polygamy, and it is very clearly written there that a second marriage cannot be contracted while a first marriage exists, but permission must be obtained from the Arbitration Council to contract that second marriage. Every Union Council has an Arbitration Council. The law says that if any husband wants to contract a second marriage, he must submit a formal application to the Arbitration Council, and in it write down all the reasons on the basis of which he wants to contract the second marriage. Those reasons can be anything, but the reason should be such that an ordinary person would be compelled to think, yes, given the reasons being stated, a second marriage is warranted.

For example, a man's wife is ill and is not able to fulfil marital responsibilities, there are medical issues, there is an element of age, there are difficulties in the marital relationship, there is conflict — she is not asking for divorce, but she is also not allowing the man to give divorce. There are some family matters, such as an exchange marriage (watta satta), where if one divorce is given, the other automatically follows. There can be many reasons, but the reasons should be such that the Arbitration Council is compelled to accept that yes, this second marriage is warranted.

That is permission at the level of the Arbitration Council. Now, if the wife gives permission in writing, that does not mean that simply because written permission has come, you have obtained permission — you still have to submit it to the Arbitration Council, and then the Arbitration Council will call your wife and ask her whether she has given this permission of her own free will, and it will then also ask about the reasons on the basis of which he wants to contract this second marriage.

The reasons can be countless — the wife's infertility can also be a reason. A desire for more children can also be a reason — a wife has had two children, after which the doctor said that having more children would put her life at risk. He wants children, and he has sufficient resources; or his family tradition may also be looked at — that the father also had three marriages, the grandfather also had two marriages, the great-grandfather also had three marriages — this too can be a reason. The reason must be solid for contracting a second marriage. After that, even if your wife does not agree, even if your first wife does not give her consent in writing, the Arbitration Council will issue you a certificate that yes, you may contract a second marriage.

Now the other side of this: what does the law say if permission was not obtained from the Arbitration Council? Then the same Section 6, sub-section 5, states that if a person contracts a second marriage without the permission of the Arbitration Council, two consequences follow, and the word used is 'shall' — meaning it is mandatory: first, at the earliest opportunity he shall pay the full dower, whether it was prompt, deferred, or on demand, whatever the case may be, he shall pay her the entire dower, and if he does not pay it, his property shall be sold to satisfy it, and once it is established, once it is proven that yes, he has violated this law —

Then a complaint will be filed, a prosecution will be filed, by the wife — the first wife — in which she alleges that he contracted this second marriage without my permission, without the Arbitration Council's permission, and without any [valid] reason. Once that complaint is proven, what punishment can he get? He can get punishment of imprisonment of up to one year, he can be fined, or he can get both — imprisonment as well as a fine.