LAHORE (Muhammad Ashfaq)- In a landmark verdict on Friday, the Lahore High Court (LHC) declared a man's marriage with the sister of former wife illegal without completing the compulsory Iddat period.
Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh issued an 11-page written decision on the interim bail application of Musawar Hussain who married his ex-wife's sister in just nine days after divorce.
It was noted in the judgement that according to Islam, a person could not keep two sisters in marriage and the decision of the Federal Shariat Court also served as a guiding principle according to which a woman would remain in the Nikkah while being in Iddat.
It was added that the parties agreed that a person could marry the sister of his wife only if she (the latter) had completed her Iddat period. That marriage would be a punishable offence.
Justice Sheikh also wrote in the judgement that it was necessary for the husband and wife to separate from each other as soon as they knew about the irregular marriage.
The court mentioned that petitioner Musawar Hussain did not provide the certified documents related to his divorce to the police during investigation.
Despite this, he approached court for his pre-arrest bail.
The Case
In August 2023, a person named Sabir Ali filed a case against his brother-in-law Musawar Hussain, complaining that the latter married his younger sister while being also married to his elder sister. A person marrying two sisters at the same time was against Islam, he argued.
Hussain told police during investigation that he had given divorce to his first wife and married her sister after nine days. He said the case was illegal.
The court, however, annulled the interim bail of the accused.