The Kerala High Court clarified that Muslim personal law does not grant an unconditional right to multiple marriages. Polygamy, the Court stressed, is subject to the husband’s capacity to provide equal treatment and maintenance to all wives. A man without sufficient means cannot claim this right.
The case involved a blind man, surviving on begging, who sought to marry for the third time. His second wife approached the Court after her maintenance plea was rejected by the Family Court. She alleged that he earned nearly Rs. 25,000 from alms, threatened to pronounce talaq, and planned remarriage.
The wife argued that her husband was financially capable of supporting her, while the husband denied this, claiming he lived entirely on alms. The Family Court had refused maintenance, holding that no direction could be issued against a beggar to pay.
Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan, upholding the Family Court’s view, observed that polygamy under Islam is conditional and not an absolute right. Successive marriages by a person who cannot maintain his spouses cannot be sustained, and misconceptions about polygamy often stem from lack of awareness.
The Court dismissed the wife’s maintenance plea but directed the Social Welfare Department to provide counselling to the man, involving religious leaders, to dissuade further marriages. It also ordered the State to ensure food and clothing support for both the husband and wife.
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