The Chhattisgarh High Court has ruled that a private religious body or an organisation describing itself as a Sharia court cannot exercise the powers of a court established under law to determine a person's marital status or legally dissolve a marriage.

Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad held that the Idara-E-Shariya Islami Court in Raipur had no legal authority to declare that a woman was divorced from her husband. The court set aside the legal effect of its January 18, 2022 communication, while making it clear that the broader constitutional validity of Talaq-e-Hasan was not being decided in the case.

What the High Court ruled

The case concerned a Muslim woman who challenged an order issued by the private religious body during a matrimonial dispute. The organisation had issued a communication declaring her divorced.

The High Court held that the Idara-E-Shariya Islami Court was neither constituted nor recognised as a court under the Constitution or any statute. Therefore, its communication could not legally alter the woman's marital status or create, extinguish or modify the legal rights and obligations of either spouse. 

The judgment drew a distinction between a religious opinion and a legally enforceable judicial decision.

Religious opinion cannot replace a court order

The court made clear that private religious institutions may provide religious advice or facilitate voluntary reconciliation, but they cannot assume the adjudicatory powers of statutory courts.

In other words, a religious body's opinion may have significance for those who voluntarily seek such guidance, but it does not automatically acquire the force of law or become enforceable through legal or coercive mechanisms. 

The High Court relied on the Supreme Court's earlier judgment in Vishwa Lochan Madan v. Union of India, which held that bodies such as Dar-ul-Qaza and institutions issuing fatwas are not courts created by law and cannot issue binding verdicts determining people's legal rights.

How the marital dispute began

According to the judgment, the petitioner, identified as Nirosh Abbasi, had married Mohd Abid Khan on July 18, 2020, following the death of her first husband.

A matrimonial dispute subsequently arose. The husband claimed that he had communicated Talaq-e-Hasan to her in three stages — on August 31, September 30 and October 30, 2021.

The woman, meanwhile, complained of alleged harassment and cruelty. An FIR was registered at Mahila Thana, Raipur, under Sections 498-A and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. 

During the proceedings, the Idara-E-Shariya Islami Court issued its January 18, 2022 communication declaring her divorced.

The woman challenged the authority of the religious body to determine her marital status.

High Court leaves Talaq-e-Hasan issue open

Importantly, the judgment does not decide whether Talaq-e-Hasan itself is constitutionally valid or invalid.

The High Court treated that as a separate and broader legal question and noted that the issue was pending before the Supreme Court. It therefore confined its ruling to the authority of the private religious body to determine the woman's legal marital status. 

This distinction is important: the court's ruling concerns the legal authority of the Idara-E-Shariya Islami Court, rather than a final determination on the constitutional validity of the particular form of divorce.

FIR and other legal remedies unaffected

The High Court also clarified that its decision would not prejudice the criminal proceedings or prevent either party from pursuing remedies available under law.

The pending criminal case and other legal rights are to be dealt with by the competent authorities in accordance with applicable law. 

Petition partly allowed

The High Court partly allowed the petition and held that the January 18, 2022 communication, insofar as it purported to determine the woman's marital status or dissolve her marriage, was without legal authority.

The ruling reinforces the principle that private religious institutions cannot assume the jurisdiction of courts established by law. A religious body can offer an opinion or assist in reconciliation, but a legally enforceable change in marital status must come through the competent legal process.