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Family Law II (Mohammedan Law and Indian Succession Act)
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 6
2012 Jan Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 6 Family Law II (Mohammedan Law and Indian Succession Act) 2012 Jan Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2012 Jan examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2012 Jan examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 100 · 20 questions answered
Instructions printed on the paper
- N.B. (1) Answer all 5 questions. (2) Figures to the right indicate marks. (3) Answer should be written either in English or Kannada completely.
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1
Unit I
(a)Discuss Muta marriage under Mahomedan law.[15]
Answer
For full marks, cover: what muta is (a marriage for a fixed term, from a word meaning enjoyment) and that only the Ithna Ashari Shia school recognises it; the first question in any case, which school the parties follow (Siddiq Ahmad: a Muslim is presumed Sunni); who may contract it (Amanullah Hussain: the women a Shia man may take in muta); how it is formed, and the two omission rules (no dower: void; no term: a permanent marriage); the position of the wife (dower, maintenance, inheritance, number of muta wives); the position of the children (legitimate: Shoharat Singh); how it ends (expiry, the husband's gift of the remaining term, death; no talaq) and iddat; proving it in court (Shoharat Singh's presumption that a muta continues; Mohabbat Ali Khan's presumption of a permanent marriage); maintenance under the statute; a decision table; an assessment; a conclusion.
Meaning
Muta literally means enjoyment. In Muslim law it is a marriage contracted for a fixed period, which may be a day, a month or a number of years. It ends by itself when the period runs out, without any divorce.
Only the Ithna Ashari school of Shia law recognises muta. The Sunni schools do not accept it as a valid marriage. So for a Sunni couple a contract of muta creates no marriage at all.
The first question: which school?
Because muta exists in one school only, every case begins by asking whether the parties belong to it.
Siddiq Ahmad v. Shaukat Ali (Allahabad High Court, 13 September 2022). The courts below had divided a Sunni woman's estate equally between her husband and son. The High Court corrected the shares under Hanafi law. Following Mulla, it recorded that a Muslim is presumed to be a Sunni, and a Sunni a Hanafi, unless the contrary is shown.
So a person who relies on a muta must plead and prove that the parties are Ithna Ashari Shias. If that fails, the presumption stands and there was no marriage.
Who may contract a muta
A Shia man may contract muta with a Muslim woman, or with a Christian, Jewish or fire-worshipping woman. He may not contract it with a woman of any other faith. A Shia woman may not contract muta with a non-Muslim.
Syed Amanullah Hussain v. Rajamma AIR 1977 AP 152. A Shia, Habeebulla Hussaini, died in 1967. His brother claimed his house as sole heir, saying that the woman living with him, a Hindu by birth, was only a servant. The defence was a muta marriage. The Andhra Pradesh High Court set out whom a Shia man may take in muta, as above. It held that a marriage may be proved directly, or presumed from long cohabitation with other circumstances, where there was no bar. On the evidence she was his wife and the child his son, and the brother took nothing.
How a muta is formed
Four requisites must be met.
- Competent parties, as above, with puberty and sound mind.
- Proposal and acceptance, as in any marriage.
- A fixed term. The period must be stated. It is of the essence of muta.
- A specified dower. The dower must be stated in the contract.
The two omission rules. If the term is stated but no dower is specified, the contract is void. If dower is specified but no term is stated, the contract takes effect as a permanent marriage. The two omissions therefore have opposite results.
The position of the wife
- Dower. She is entitled to the full specified dower if she remains for the whole term. If she leaves before it ends, the dower is reduced in proportion to the unexpired period.
- Maintenance. Classical law gives a muta wife no right to maintenance as a wife.
- Inheritance. The spouses do not inherit from each other, unless they have stipulated for it.
- Number. The limit of four wives applies to permanent marriages. Ithna Ashari law sets no such limit for muta wives.
The position of the children
The children of a muta are legitimate and inherit from both parents. This is the most important effect of a valid muta.
Shoharat Singh v. Musammat Jafri Bibi (1915) 17 Bom LR 13 (Privy Council). Muhammad Kazim, a Shia, lived for many years with Achchhi Bibi, and had three daughters by her. The youngest claimed to be his only legitimate child, born after a later nikah. The Privy Council described muta as a temporary marriage under Shia law, with its duration fixed by agreement. It gives the wife no claim to the husband's property, but children conceived during it are legitimate and inherit from their father.
It also held that where cohabitation is shown to have begun in a muta, the muta is inferred to have continued throughout. That inference holds unless there is contrary evidence. So the elder daughters were legitimate too, and the claimant took only one-third.
How a muta ends
- Expiry of the term. The marriage ends automatically. No talaq is pronounced and no court is needed.
- The husband's gift of the remaining term. He may release the wife from the unexpired period, which ends the marriage earlier.
- Death of either party.
Talaq does not apply to a muta. If the marriage was consummated, the wife must observe iddat when it ends.
Proving a muta in court
Two presumptions may compete.
- A muta continues. Under Shoharat Singh, a relationship that began as a muta is presumed to have stayed one. Evidence of a later permanent marriage displaces that presumption.
- A permanent marriage may be presumed.
Mohabbat Ali Khan v. Muhammad Ibrahim Khan (1929) 31 Bom LR 846 (Privy Council). The question was whether a son born to Khushdil Khan's former maidservant was his legitimate heir. Khushdil Khan had acknowledged the boy as his son in sworn statements and in official records, and kept mother and son in his home. The Privy Council held that such an acknowledgement raises a presumption of marriage with the mother. Only disproof of that marriage displaces it.
So the court looks at how the relationship began. Where it is proved to have begun as a muta, Shoharat Singh governs. Otherwise, long cohabitation and acknowledgement may establish a permanent marriage.
Maintenance under the statute
Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 lets a "wife" claim maintenance from a husband who neglects her. Whether a muta wife, during the term, is a wife for this purpose is a separate question from the classical rule. The classical denial of maintenance does not by itself answer it.
Results at a glance
| Situation | Result |
|---|---|
| Parties not proved to be Ithna Ashari | no marriage; the presumption of Sunni law stands |
| Term and dower both stated | valid muta |
| Term stated, no dower | void |
| Dower stated, no term | permanent marriage |
| Wife leaves before the term ends | dower reduced in proportion |
| Child conceived during the muta | legitimate; inherits from both parents |
| Term expires | marriage ends; iddat if consummated |
| Long cohabitation that began as a muta | presumed to continue as a muta |
An assessment
Muta gives legal protection to children born of a temporary union, who are legitimate. It also gives the wife a clear claim to dower. But it gives her no maintenance or inheritance as of right, and the marriage ends without any provision for her future. Its recognition by one school alone means that a couple's status depends on proof of their school, which is often contested only after a death.
Conclusion. Muta is a temporary marriage for a fixed term, recognised only by the Ithna Ashari Shias. A Muslim is presumed Sunni, so the school must be proved first (Siddiq Ahmad). A valid muta needs competent parties, offer and acceptance, a fixed term and specified dower. Without dower it is void, and without a term it is a permanent marriage. The wife gets dower but, classically, no maintenance or inheritance. The children are legitimate, as Shoharat Singh holds. The marriage ends on expiry of the term without talaq, followed by iddat if it was consummated.
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