KSLU Solved Question Papers
Family Law II (Mohammedan Law and Indian Succession Act)
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 6
2015 Jun Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 6 Family Law II (Mohammedan Law and Indian Succession Act) 2015 Jun 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 2015 Jun examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2015 Jun 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 · 13 questions answered
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.
Q1Enumerate the differences between Sunni and Shia regarding marriage, dower and divorce.[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: why the two branches differ (methods and the authority of the Imams) and why the difference matters in an Indian court (the presumption of Hanafi law, proof of another school); the differences taken subject by subject: marriage (witnesses, classes of marriage, muta, marriage with a kitabia, guardians for marriage), dower (minimum, ceiling of proper dower, dower in the void or irregular union), and divorce (form of talaq, capacity and free will, triple talaq, ambiguous words, ila); the points on which the schools agree; the leading cases (Chand Patel, Shoharat Singh, Amanullah Hussain, Shayara Bano); a table; a conclusion.
Why the two branches differ
Sunnis and Shias accept the Quran and the Prophet's practice. They part on authority. Sunni law grew through consensus and analogy, worked out by the jurists of four schools. Shia law treats the rulings of the Imams as authoritative, and uses reason (aql) where Sunnis use analogy. Most Indian Muslims are Hanafi Sunnis. The largest Shia school in India is the Ithna Ashari, so the comparison here is between Hanafi and Ithna Ashari law.
Why it matters in court
A Muslim is presumed to be a Sunni, and a Sunni a Hanafi. A party who claims to be a Shia must prove it, usually from the family's practice. The school proved then decides which of the rules below applies.
Marriage
1. Witnesses
Sunni law requires two witnesses at the proposal and acceptance: two adult Muslim men, or one man and two women. Shia law requires none. A Sunni marriage without witnesses is irregular; a Shia one is valid.
2. The classes of marriage
Sunni law has three classes: valid, void and irregular. Shia law has only two, valid and void.
Chand Patel v. Bismillah Begum AIR 2008 SC 1915. A man married his wife's younger sister while the elder's marriage subsisted, and later called the second marriage void to resist a maintenance claim. The Supreme Court held that under Hanafi law a marriage against a temporary bar is irregular, not void, and subsists until lawfully ended. The wife and daughter got maintenance. Under Shia law, with no irregular class, such a marriage is void.
3. Temporary marriage (muta)
Only the Ithna Ashari school recognises muta, a marriage for a fixed term with specified dower. For Sunnis it is no marriage at all.
Shoharat Singh v. Musammat Jafri Bibi (1915) 17 Bom LR 13 (Privy Council). A Shia's daughters by a woman he had lived with for years disputed their legitimacy. The evidence showed that the cohabitation began in a muta. The Privy Council held that muta, a temporary marriage under Shia law, gives the wife no claim to the husband's property. Children conceived during it are legitimate and inherit from their father. A muta shown to have begun the cohabitation is presumed to have continued through it.
4. Marriage with a kitabia
A Sunni man may contract a valid permanent marriage with a kitabia, a Christian or Jewish woman. Under Shia law his permanent marriage with a non-Muslim is void, though muta with a kitabia is allowed.
Syed Amanullah Hussain v. Rajamma AIR 1977 AP 152. A Shia's brother claimed his estate, denying that the woman living with him was his wife. The Andhra Pradesh High Court restated that under Shia law a marriage with a non-Muslim is void. Muta, however, may be contracted with a Muslim, Christian, Jewish or fire-worshipping woman. On the evidence it presumed a lawful marriage, and the brother took nothing.
5. Guardians for marriage
Under Hanafi law a wide circle of relations, beginning with the father and the paternal grandfather, may contract a minor's marriage. Under Shia law only the father and the paternal grandfather may do so.
Dower
- Minimum. Hanafi law fixes a minimum of ten dirhams. Shia law fixes none.
- Proper dower. Under Shia law proper dower may not exceed 500 dirhams, the dower of the Prophet's daughter Fatima. Hanafi law sets no such ceiling. Specified dower has no ceiling in either school.
- Dower in a defective union. A consummated irregular marriage gives a Sunni wife her dower. The same union is void under Shia law, so the wife takes no dower as such.
- Muta dower. Under Shia law a muta without specified dower is void. In a permanent marriage the law supplies proper dower if none is fixed, in both schools.
Divorce
- Form of talaq. Sunni law allows talaq orally or in writing, without witnesses. Shia law requires an oral pronouncement in Arabic terms before two witnesses.
- Free will and sobriety. Hanafi law gave effect even to a talaq pronounced under compulsion or in intoxication. Shia law requires the husband to act freely and with a clear mind.
- Triple talaq. Hanafi law treated three pronouncements at one sitting as an effective, irrevocable divorce. Shia law never recognised it.
Shayara Bano v. Union of India AIR 2017 SC 4609. Muslim women challenged instant triple talaq. By a majority of three to two the Supreme Court set it aside. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019 then made it void and an offence. On this point Indian law now agrees with the Shia position.
- Ambiguous words. Hanafi law accepts ambiguous words (kinaya) if the intention to divorce is proved. Shia law requires express words.
- Ila. Under Hanafi law the marriage dissolves when four months pass with the oath kept. Under Shia law the wife must go to court.
Where the schools agree
Both recognise talaq in the approved forms, ahsan and hasan, delegated talaq, khula and mubarat. Both require iddat, and both treat dower as a debt and as the wife's property. Both are bound by the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939, which applies to every Muslim wife.
One set of facts, two answers
Ali marries Mary, a Christian, by proposal and acceptance, with no witnesses present. No dower is fixed. Two years later, in a fit of anger after drinking, he says "talaq" three times.
- If Ali is a Hanafi. The marriage with a kitabia is allowed, but the want of witnesses makes it irregular. Once consummated, it gives Mary proper dower and makes any child legitimate. Under the old Hanafi law his drunken triple talaq would have ended it at once. Today the 2019 Act makes that pronouncement void and an offence.
- If Ali is an Ithna Ashari. A permanent marriage with a Christian is void, so there was no marriage to dissolve. Had it been a muta, it would have needed a fixed term and specified dower. A talaq pronounced in drink and anger, without witnesses, would in any case have had no effect under Shia law. Mary would have no claim as a wife, though a child of a muta would be legitimate, as Shoharat Singh holds.
The same facts give different answers, which is why a court must first find the parties' school. Where the evidence is silent, the court treats both as Hanafis.
At a glance
| Point | Sunni (Hanafi) | Shia (Ithna Ashari) |
|---|---|---|
| Witnesses to marriage | two required | none required |
| Classes of marriage | valid, void, irregular | valid, void |
| Point | Sunni (Hanafi) | Shia (Ithna Ashari) |
|---|---|---|
| Muta | not recognised | recognised |
| Permanent marriage with a kitabia | valid | void (muta allowed) |
| Guardians for a minor's marriage | wider circle | father and paternal grandfather only |
| Minimum dower | ten dirhams | none |
| Ceiling of proper dower | none | 500 dirhams |
| Form of talaq | oral or written, no witnesses | oral, in Arabic terms, before two witnesses |
| Talaq under compulsion or intoxication | effective | not effective |
| Triple talaq at one sitting | effective (now void by statute) | never recognised |
| Ila | dissolves after four months | court needed |
Conclusion. Sunni and Shia law differ on marriage: Shias need no witnesses, recognise muta and have no irregular class (Chand Patel). They allow a permanent marriage with a Muslim only (Amanullah Hussain). They also differ on dower, as to the minimum and the Shia ceiling of proper dower. On divorce, Shia law demands an oral, witnessed pronouncement in express Arabic words, by a free and sober husband, and never accepted triple talaq. Indian law has now reached that result for everyone (Shayara Bano). Muta's children are legitimate (Shoharat Singh), and the 1939 Act binds both schools alike.
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