8 of 1939) is meant to consolidate and clarify the provisions of Muslim Law relating to suits for dissolution of marriage brought by women married under Muslim Law.
[3] In Muslim law, the wife can claim divorce under extrajudicial or judicial modes.
The judicial mode is by Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939.
[4][5] An important aspect of this law is Section 4 that states "The renunciation of Islam by a married Muslim woman or her conversion to faith other than Islam shall not by itself operate to dissolve her marriage".
[1] Under the act a woman married under Muslim Law shall be entitled to obtain a decree for the dissolution of her marriage on any one or more of the following grounds,[1] (i) that the whereabouts of the husband have not been known for a period of four years ; (ii) that the husband has neglected or has failed to provide for her maintenance for a period of two years ; (iii) that the husband has been sentenced to imprisonment for a period of seven years or upwards ; (iv) that the husband has failed to perform, without reasonable cause his marital obligations for a period of three years ; continues to be so: (v) that the husband was impotent at the time of the marriage and (vi) that the husband has been insane for a period of two years or is suffering from leprosy or a virulent venereal disease ; (vii) that she, having been given in marriage by her father or other guardian before she attained the age of fifteen years, repudiated the marriage before attaining the age of eighteen years : Provided that the marriage has not been consummated ; (viii) that the husband treats her with cruelty that is to say,- (ix) on any other ground which is recognized as valid for the dissolution of marriages under Muslim Law: Provided that,