Jammu and Kashmir Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1999 (1942 A.D.)
No: 10 Dated: Dec, 03 1999
THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR DISSOLUTION OF MUSLIM MARRIAGES ACT, 1999 (1942 A. D.)
(Act No. X of Samvat 1999)
An Act to consolidate and clarify the provisions of Muslim law relating to suits for dissolution of marriage by women married under Muslim law and to remove doubts as to the effect of the renunciation of Islam by a married Muslim woman on her marriage tie.
Whereas it is expedient to consolidate and clarify the provisions of Muslim law relating to suits for dissolution of marriage by women married under Muslim law and to remove doubts as to effect of the renunciation of Islam by a married Muslim woman on her marriage tie;
It is hereby enacted as follow :-
1. Short title and extent. - (1) This Act may be called the Jammu and Kashmir Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1999.
(2) It extends to the whole of the Jammu and Kashmir State.
2. Grounds for decree for dissolution of marriage. - A woman who is the wife of a person according to the Muslim law shall be entitled to obtain a decree for the dissolution of her marriage on any one or more of the following grounds, namely :-
(i) that the where abouts of the husband have not been known for a period of four years ;
(ii) that after she asked her husband to provide for her maintenance he wilfully neglected or failed fora period of not less than two years to do so;
(iii) that the husband has been sentenced to imprisonment for a period of seven years or upwards;
(iv) that the husband has failed to perform, without reasonable cause, his marital obligations for a period of three years;
(v) that the husband was impotent at the time of the marriage and continues to be so ;
(vi) that the husband has been in same for a continuous period of four years or is suffering from leprosy;
(vii) that she, having been given in marriage before she attained puberty, repudiated the marriage before she attained the age of eighteen years:
Provide that the marriage has not been consummated:
Provided further that, if she has been given in marriage by her father or father’s/father the marriage shall not be repudiated unless such father or father’s father has acted fraudulently or the contract is to her main fest disadvantage;
(viii) that the husband treats her with cruelty, that is to say, :-
(a) habitually assaults her or makes her life miserable) by cruelty of conduct even if such conduct does not amount to physical ill-treatment, or
(b) associates with women of evil repute or leads a life of debauchery, or
(c) attempts to force her to lead an immoral life, or
(d) obstructs her in the observance of her religious profession or practice, or
(e) if he has more wives than one does not treat her equitable;
(ix) on may other ground which is recognised as valid for the dissolution of marriages under Muslim law :
Provided that -
(a) a decree passed on ground (i) shall not take effect for period of one year from the date of such decree, and if during such period the husband either appears in person before the Court or satisfies the Court through an authorised agent as to his where bouts, the Court shall set aside the said decree ;
(b) no decree shall be passed on ground (iii) until the sentence has become final; and
(c) in case of the impotency of the husband before passing a decree on ground (v), the Court shall make an order requiring the husband to satisfy the Court within a period of one year from the date of such order that he has ceased to be impotent, and if the husband so satisfies the Court within such period, no decree shall be passed on the said ground.
3. Notice to heirs of husband when his whereabouts unknown. - In a suit to which clause (i) of section 2 applies-
(a) the names and addresses of the persons who would have been the heirs of the husband under Muslim law if he had died on the date of the filing of the plaint, shall be stated in the plaint.
(b) notice of the suit shall be served on such persons, and
(c) such persons shall have the right to be heard in the suit:
Provided that the paternal uncle and brother of the husband, if any, shall be cited as parties.
4. Wife's conversion to another faith effect. - The renunciation of Islam by a married Muslim woman or her conversion to a faith other than Islam shall not by itself operate to dissolve her marriage :
Provided that it shall so operate in the case of a married Muslim woman who was converted to Islam from some other faith but who re-embraces her former faith.