Madras High Court: Second Marriage by Muslim Man Deemed Cruelty to First Wife

Although the husband, a Muslim, is permitted to enter into a second marriage, the Court held that he must still bear the consequences of this act by compensating his first wife.

The Madras High Court recently ruled that a Muslim man taking a second wife constitutes cruelty toward his first wife and ordered him to pay ₹5 lakh as compensation to her.

Justice GR Swaminathan noted that the husband’s remarriage caused considerable emotional distress and pain to the first wife.

While the husband, as a Muslim, has the right to a second marriage, the Court held that he must nonetheless face the consequences by compensating his first wife.

“The revision petitioner being a Muslim is at liberty to do so. But then, he has to pay for his act. The act of second marriage would have caused considerable emotional distress and pain to the complainant. Without doubt, it amounts to cruelty. The Courts below were therefore justified in awarding compensation for a sum of Rs.5 Lakhs,” the court ordered.

The Court further ordered him to pay ₹25,000 per month for the maintenance of their minor child.

The order was issued in response to a revision petition filed by the husband (petitioner).

He had married his first wife, the respondent, in 2010.

In 2018, the wife filed a domestic violence case against him under Sections 12(1) and (2), 18(a) and (b), 19(a), (b), and (c), 20(1)(d), and 22 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.

In 2021, a Magistrate directed the husband to pay ₹5 lakh as compensation for domestic violence and provide ₹25,000 per month for the maintenance of their minor child.

The husband appealed the Magistrate’s order before the Additional District and Sessions Judge in Tirunelveli, but the appeal was dismissed, leading him to challenge the ruling in the Madras High Court.

In his defense, he argued that his first wife, a medical doctor, had not been subjected to any form of domestic violence.

He claimed that their marriage had been dissolved before his second marriage, presenting a divorce certificate issued by the Shariat Council of Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath in November 2017, following his issuance of a third Talaq notice to his wife.

The Court rejected this argument, highlighting that the husband had not secured any judicial declaration affirming the dissolution of his marriage with the respondent.

The Court determined that the marriage between the husband and his first wife remained legally valid.

“The revision petitioner had failed to obtain any judicial declaration that his marriage with the respondent herein was legally dissolved. I conclude that the marriage between the complainant and the revision petitioner is still holding good ,” the Court stated.

The Court then considered whether a Muslim man taking a second wife while his first marriage was still valid could amount to domestic violence under Section 12 of the Act, thereby entitling the Muslim wife to claim compensation, similar to cases involving non-Muslim wives.

The Court ruled that although a Muslim wife cannot prevent her husband from remarrying, she retains the right to seek maintenance and may refuse to live in the matrimonial home.

“It is true that a Muslim male is legally entitled to contract as many as four marriages. For this legal right or liberty, there is only a limited hohfeldian jural correlative on the part of the wife. The wife cannot stop the husband from entering into a second marriage. She, however, has the right to seek maintenance and refuse to be a part of the matrimonial household,” the Court said.

Accordingly, the Court dismissed the revision petition and upheld the compensation awarded to the wife.