Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961
(VIII OF 1961)
An Ordinance to give effect to certain recommendations of
the commission on marriage and
Family Laws. Whereas it is expedient to give effect to
certain recommendation of
commission on Marriage and Family Laws. Now, therefore in
pursuance of the proclamation of
the seventh day of October 1958, and in exercise of all
powers enabling him in this behalf, the
President is pleased to make and promulgate the following
Ordinan
ce:
-
1. Short title,
extent, application and commencement
(1) This Ordinance may be called the Muslim Family Laws
Ordinance, 1961.
(2) It extends to whole of Pakistan,
and applies to all Muslim citizens of Pakistan, wherever they
may be.
(3) It shall come
into force on such date as the Federal Government may, by
notification in the
official Gazette, appoint in this behalf.
2. Definition
(a) “Arbitration Council” means a body consisting of the
Chairman and a representative of each
of the parties to a matter
dealt with this Ordinance:
Provided that where any party fails to nominate a
representative within the prescribed time, the
body formed without such representative shall be the
Arbitration Council.
(b) “Chairman” means the Chairman of the Union Council or
a person appointed by the Federal
Government in the Cantonment areas or by the Provincial
Government in other areas or by an
Officer authorised in that behalf by any such Government to
discharge the functions of
chairman under Ordinance:
Provided that wher
e the Chairman of the Union Council is a non
-
Muslim, or he himself wishes to
make an application to the Arbitration Council, or is, owing
to illness or any other reason,
unable to discharge the functions of Chairman, the Council
shall elect one of its Musl
im
members as Chairman for the purposes of this Ordinance.
(c) “Prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under Sch.
II.
(d) “Union Council” means the Union Council or the Town or
Union Committee constituted
under the Basic Democracies Order, 1959 and hav
ing jurisdiction in the matter as prescribed.
(e) “Ward” means a ward within a Union
or Town as defined in the aforesaid Order.
3. Ordinance to override other laws, etc.
(1) The provisions of this Ordinance shall have effect
notwithstanding any law, custom
or
usage, and the registration of Muslim marriages shall take
place only in accordance with these
provisions.
(2) For the removal of doubt, it is hereby declared that the
provisions of the Arbitration Act,
1940 (X of 1940), the Code of Civil Procedure 190
8 (Act V of 1908), and any other law
regulating the procedure of Courts shall not apply to any
Arbitration Council.
opening of succession, the children of such son or d
aughter, if any, living at the time the
succession opens, shall per stripes, receive a share
equivalent to the share which such son or
daughter, as the case may be, would have received if alive.
5. Registration of marriage.
(1) Every marriage solemnized un
der Muslim Law shall be registered in accordance with the
provisions of this Ordinance.
(2) For the purpose of registration of marriage under this
Ordinance, the Union Council shall
grant licenses to one or more persons, to be called Nikah
Registrars, but
in no case shall more
than on Nikah Registrar be licensed for any one Ward.
(3) Every marriage not solemnized by the Nikah Registrar
shall, for the purpose of registration
under this Ordinance be reported to him by the person who
has solemnized such marria
ge.
(4). Whoever contravenes the provisions of such
-
section (3) shall be punishable with simple
imprisonment for a term which may extent to three months, or
with fine which may extend to
one thousand rupees, or with both.
(5). The form of nikahnama, the re
gisters to be maintained by Nikah Registrars, the records to
be preserved by Union Councils, the manner in which marriage
shall be registered and copies of
nikhanama shall be supplied to parties, and the fees to be
charged thereof, shall be such as
may be
prescribed.
(6) Any person may, on payment of the prescribed fee, if
any, inspect at the office of the Union
Council the record preserved under sub
-
section (5), or obtain a copy of any entry therein.
6. Polygamy.
(1) No man, during the subsistence of an ex
isting marriage, shall except with the previous
permission in writing of the Arbitration Council, contract
another marriage, nor shall any such
marriage contracted without such permission be registered
under this Ordinance.
(2) An application for permissio
n under Sub
-
section (1) shall be submitted to the Chairman in
the prescribed manner together with the prescribed fee, and
shall state reasons for the
proposed marriage, and whether the consent of existing wife
or wives has been obtained
thereto.
(3) On rec
eipt of the application under Sub
-
section (3), Chairman shall ask the applicant and his
existing wife or wives each to nominate a representative,
and the Arbitration Council so
constituted may, if satisfied that the proposed marriage is
necessary and just,
grant, subject to
such condition if any, as may be deemed fit, the permission
applied for.
(4) In deciding the application the Arbitration Council
shall record its reasons for the decision
and any party may, in the prescribed manner, within the
prescribed
period, and on payment of
the prescribed fee, prefer an application for revision, to
the Collector concerned and his decision
shall be final and shall not be called in question in any
Court.
(5) Any man who contracts another marriage without the
permissio
n of the Arbitration Council
shall,
(a) pay immediately the entire amount of the dower whether
prompt or deferred, due to the
existing wife or wives, which amount, if not so paid, shall
be recoverable as arrears of land
revenue; and
complaint be punishable with the simple imprisonment which
may
extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to five
thousand rupees, or with both.
7. Talaq.
(1) Any man who wishes to divorce his wife shall, as soon as
may be after the pronouncement
of
talaq in any form whatsoever, give the chairman a notice in
writing of his having done so,
and shall supply a copy thereof to the wife.
(2) Whoever, contravenes the provisions of sub
-
section (1) shall be punishable with simple
imprisonment for a term whic
h may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to
five
thousand rupees, or with both.
(3) Save as provided in sub
-
section (5) talaq, unless revoked earlier, expressly or
otherwise,
shall not be effective until the expiration of ninety days
from da
y on which notice under sub
-
section (1) is delivered to the Chairman.
(4) Within thirty days of the receipt of notice under Sub
-
section (1), the Chairman shall
constitute an Arbitration Council for the purpose of
bringing about a reconciliation between the
parties, and the Arbitration Council shall take all steps
necessary to bring about such
reconciliation.
(5) If the wife be pregnant at the time talaq is pronounced,
talaq shall not be effective until the
period mentioned in Sub
-
section (3) or the pregnanc
y, whichever later, ends.
(6) Nothing shall debar a wife whose marriage has been
terminated by talaq effective
under his
section from remarrying the same husband, without an
intervening marriage with a third
person, unless such termination is for the third
time so effective.
8. Dissolution of marriage otherwise than by talaq. Where
the right to divorce has been duly
delegated to the wife and she wishes to exercise that right,
or where any of the parties to a
marriage wishes to dissolves the marriage otherwi
se than by talaq the provisions of section 7
shall, mutatis mutandis and so far as applicable, apply.
9. Maintenance.
(1) If any husband fails to maintain his wife adequately, or
where there are more wives than
one, fails to maintain them equitably, the wi
fe, or all or any of the wives, may in addition to
seeking any other legal remedy available apply to the
Chairman who shall constitute an
Arbitration Council to determine the matter, and the
Arbitration Council may issue a certificate
specifying the amount
which shall be paid as maintenance by the husband.
(2) A husband or wife may, in the prescribed manner, within
the prescribed period, and on
payment of the prescribed fee, prefer an application for
revision of the certificate, to the
Collector concerned a
nd his decision shall be final and shall not be called in
question in any
Court.
(3) Any amount payable under Sub
-
section (1) or, (2) if, not paid in the due time, shall be
recoverable as arrears of land revenue.
PUNJAB AMENDMENT In sub
-
section (2), the fu
ll
-
stop occurring at the end shall be replaced by
a colon and thereafter the following proviso shall be added,
namely:
Provided that the Commissioner of a Division may, on an
application made in this behalf and for
reasons to be recorded, transfer an appli
cation for revision of the certificate from a Collector to
any other Collector, or to a Director, Local Government, or
to an Additional Commissioner in his
Division. [Ord. II of 1975, Section 2].
r are specified in the
nikahnama or the marriage contract, the entire amount of the
dower shall be presumed to be
payable on demand.
11. Power to make rules.
(1) The Government may make rules to carry into effect the
purposes of this Ordinance.
(2) In maki
ng rules under this section, such Government, may provide
that a breach of any of
the rules shall be punishable with simple imprisonment which
may extend to one month, or with
fine which may extent to two hundred rupees, or with both.
(3) Rules made under
this section shall be published in the official Gazette and
shall thereupon
have effect as if enacted in this Ordinance.
12. Amendment of child marriage restraint act, 1929 (xix of
1929). Omitted by Ord. 27 of 1981.
13. Amendment of the dissolution of musl
im marriages act, 1939 (viii of 1939). Omitted by Ord.
27 of 1981.
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