Allahabad High Court Prohibits Muslim Man To Marry Another Woman If He Isn't Capable Of Fostering First Wife And Children, As Per Quran

As per the Allahabad High Court, “If a Muslim man is not capable of fostering his first wife and children then as per the mandate of the Holy Quran, he cannot marry another woman.”

The court observed this while rejecting a Muslim man's plea seeking restoration of conjugal rights whose first wife had refused to live with him as he married another woman without informing her and later asked her to share his consortium with the other woman.

The Court observed, “As per the Quran, bigamy is not sanctified unless a man can do justice to orphans.” The court further observed, “It is the requisite of the present day that people are made aware that it is obligatory to treat women with respect and dignity so that humanism in its conceptual essentiality remains alive."

As per the mandate of the Holy Quran, bigamy is not sanctified unless a man can do justice to orphans, the Allahabad High Court observed, reinstating that a Muslim man has to prevent himself to perform a second marriage if he is not capable of fostering his wife and children.

The Bench of Justice Surya Prakash Kesarwani and Justice Rajendra Kumar-IV observed, "The religious mandate of Sura 4 Ayat 3 (of Quran) is binding on all Muslim men which specifically mandates all Muslim men to deal justly with orphans and then they can marry women of their choice two or three or four but if a Muslim man fears that he will not be able to deal justly with them then one. If a Muslim man is not capable of fostering his wife and children then as per the above mandate of the Holy Quran, he cannot marry the other woman,"

It was the admitted case of the plaintiff-appellant/husband that he contracted a second marriage and did not disclose this fact to his first wife (defendant/respondent), however, he wished to live with both of his wives and since the first wife refused to live with him and share his consortium with another woman, he filed a plea seeking restitution of conjugal rights.

Having heard both parties, the Family Court dismissed the husband's plea. Challenging this order, he moved to the High Court by way of filing the instant plea.

Dismissing his appeal, the High Court specifically observed that when the plaintiff-appellant contracted the second marriage suppressing this fact from his first wife, then such conduct of the plaintiff-appellant amounts to cruelty to his first wife.

Under the circumstances, the Court further held that if the first wife does not wish to live with her husband-plaintiff appellant, then she cannot be compelled to go with him in a suit filed by him for restitution of conjugal rights.

If the contention of the plaintiff-appellant/ husband for the grant of decree of conjugal rights is accepted, then from point of view of the defendant-respondent/wife, it would amount to a breach of her fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India," he Court remarked.