ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court has issued a landmark ruling declaring that no form of divorce, including talaq-e-bidat (instant triple talaq), becomes effective until the mandatory 90-day period under Section 7 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance (MFLO), 1961, is completed. The judgment reinforces the legal requirement that every divorce must undergo a cooling-off and reconciliation period before attaining finality.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, and comprising Justices Muhammad Shafiq Siddiqui and Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb, upheld the Sindh High Court’s decision dated October 7, 2024. The case involved Muhammad Hassan Sultan and Morial Shah, who married in 2016, with the husband granting his wife unconditional powers of divorce under clause 18 of the nikahnama.
Shah issued a divorce notice on July 3, 2023, exercising her delegated right under Section 7(1). However, she withdrew the proceedings on August 10, 2023, well before the statutory 90-day period expired. Following her withdrawal, the local Union/Arbitration Council officially closed the case.
The Supreme Court clarified that when a wife holds unconditional divorce rights, she equally retains the authority to retract the divorce within the prescribed period. It added that any form of divorce—whether unilateral, delegated, or instant—remains legally ineffective until 90 days have elapsed and the reconciliation process has concluded.
The bench further held that divorce proceedings initiated abroad, including in New York as cited in the case record, do not override or invalidate revocation rights under Pakistani law. The court dismissed the petitioner’s civil challenge, affirming that delegation of divorce powers inherently includes the right to withdraw.
The ruling strengthens women’s legal protections under the MFLO, ensuring that even in cases of talaq-e-bidat or delegated divorce, the statutory reconciliation window must be honoured to safeguard marital stability and due process.