Spurt in Khula Cases : More Muslim Women Seek Instant Divorce via Khula

The number of instant divorce or triple talaq cases may have come down but reports suggest there is a spurt in Khula cases among Muslim women across India. Khula is a process of separation of married couples in which the woman seeks divorce. 

Data collected from the Darul Qazas or Islamic arbitration centres in Bihar and Jharkhand show a rise in the divorce which are being filed through Khula provision, the Hindu reported. 

The report said that more Muslim women are oprting to end their marriage through Khula, the woman’s inalienable right to instant divorce, after the Supreme Court’s verdict on instant triple talaq in 2017. 

It is pertinent to note that the Kerala High Court granted Muslim women the right to annul marriage under Khula through extrajudicial means (like Darul Qazas) in 2021.

In Islam, a divorce takes place when a man pronounce talaq to his spouse. A Muslim woman can also initiate the diviorce process and end the marriage through Khula method. She would have to surrender her mehr (wealth transferred or promised to the woman at the time of marriage) at the time of such a divorce.

Khula can be initiated orally or through a document called the ‘Khulanama’. Since ‘Khula’ is granted on the woman’s request, the man cannot be held responsible for the instant divorce. There’s another provision in Islamic jurisprudence to annul the marriage -  Mubarat - which is a form of divorce proposed by both the parties and they decide mutually to put an end to their marital relationship. 

In 2020-21, all Darul Qazas received nearly 5,000 cases of Khula and data show a similar rising trend in Delhi and Mumbai.

According to Anzar Alam Qasmi, the chief qazi at Patna's Imarat-e-Shariah headquarters, in 2021-22, they received 572 cases which sought a divorce. 

“Almost all cases were of Khula with only a handful of mubarat cases and none of triple talaq,” Anzar Alam Qasmi said and he speaks only of the Imarat Shariah headquarters. 

While the Darul Qaza of Mumbai reported that there were 300 cases between 2019 to 2021. 

“There are five Darul Qazas in Mumbai. Every year, 300 cases of Khula are resolved at these centres. The maximum cases, around one hundred, come from the Mumbai city centre,” Azimuddin Sayed, president, Darul Qaza Committee said, adding “most Khula cases come in instances of marriages through online contact.”

According to Madrasa Islamia Arabia in UP’s Muzaffarnagar district, they never received cases of Khula until 2017 and now they are receiving three-four Khula cases every month. Similar figures were reported from the Riyazul Uloom recently. The local Khula cases are referred to the Deoband (famed Islamic seminary) for further arbitration.

Meanwhile, Muslim religious scholars and qazis, who are authorised to solemnise marriages and grant divorce, blame the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 for the jump in ‘Khulas’. 

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The Darul Qazas in the country provide timely and cost-effective ways to end unhappy marriages. “Many cases of Khula are resolved within an hour or two. Up to 70 percent of cases are settled within two months. Only a handful take six months or more, when the man does not respond to the notices sent to him,” Qasmi added.

(With inputs from The Hindu)