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
2016 Dec Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 6 Family Law II (Mohammedan Law and Indian Succession Act) 2016 Dec 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 2016 Dec examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2016 Dec 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.
Q1What are the essentials of a valid marriage under Mohammedan Law ?[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: the nature of nikah as a civil contract with a religious colour; the essentials grouped under three questions: who may marry (puberty, sound mind, consent, guardian and option of puberty), whom one may not marry (absolute and relative prohibitions), and how the marriage is made (ijab and qubul at one meeting, witnesses, dower); the classification into valid (sahih), irregular (fasid) and void (batil) with their effects; stipulations in the marriage contract; Shia and Sunni differences; registration and the child marriage law in Karnataka; Abdul Kadir v. Salima, Chand Patel v. Bismillah Begum and Buffatan Bibi v. Sheikh Abdul Salim explained; a conclusion.
Nature of a Muslim marriage
Nikah is a contract for the legalisation of intercourse and the procreation of children. In Abdul Kadir v. Salima the Allahabad Full Bench described it as purely a civil contract, not a sacrament. It still has a religious side. The Quran encourages marriage, and it is usually solemnised with a recitation from the Quran. But no ceremony and no priest is legally required.
Because it is a contract, the law asks three questions. Who is able to marry? Whom may a person not marry? How is the contract made? The answers give the essentials.
Question 1: who may marry (capacity and consent)
- Puberty. A Muslim who has reached puberty may marry. In the absence of evidence, puberty is presumed at fifteen years.
- Soundness of mind. A person of unsound mind cannot consent, but a guardian may contract the marriage on his or her behalf.
- Consent. Each party must consent freely. A marriage without the free consent of an adult party is not valid. Under Hanafi law an adult woman of sound mind may marry without her guardian's consent.
- Minors and the guardian. A guardian (wali) may contract the marriage of a minor. The father and the father's father rank first. The minor may repudiate the marriage on reaching puberty, if it was not consummated (option of puberty, khiyar-ul-bulugh). Section 2(vii) of the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939 covers a wife given in marriage before fifteen. She may repudiate the marriage before eighteen, if it was not consummated.
Question 2: whom one may not marry (the prohibitions)
Absolute prohibitions. A marriage within these is void:
- Consanguinity (blood). A man cannot marry his mother or grandmother, his daughter or granddaughter, his sister, his niece or grand-niece, or his aunt or great-aunt. Cousins are not prohibited.
- Affinity (marriage). A man cannot marry his wife's mother or grandmother, his wife's daughter or granddaughter, his father's wife or his son's wife.
- Fosterage (suckling). A man cannot marry his foster mother or a woman related to him through her within the degrees that would bar a blood relative. Hanafi law admits certain exceptions.
Relative prohibitions. Under Sunni law a marriage within these is irregular, not void:
- Unlawful conjunction. A man cannot have at the same time two wives so related that they could not have married each other, such as two sisters.
- A fifth wife. A man may have up to four wives. A fifth marriage while four subsist is irregular.
- Absence of witnesses (Sunni law).
- Difference of religion. A Muslim man may marry a kitabia (a Christian or Jewish woman), but not an idol-worshipper or fire-worshipper. A Muslim woman cannot marry a non-Muslim man.
- A woman undergoing iddat.
Question 3: how the marriage is made
- Proposal and acceptance. There must be a proposal (ijab) by or for one party and an acceptance (qubul) by or for the other. Both must be made at the same meeting. The words must show a present intention to marry.
- Witnesses. Under Sunni law two male witnesses, or one male and two female witnesses, must be present. They must be adult, sane Muslims. Shia law needs no witnesses.
- Dower. Dower is an incident of every marriage. If it is not mentioned, the wife still gets proper dower.
- No writing needed. A nikahnama or kabinnama is useful evidence, but the marriage is valid without one.
The three kinds of marriage and their effects
| Effect | Valid (sahih) | Irregular (fasid), after consummation | Void (batil) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal existence | full marriage | exists but is defective; either party may end it by declaration | no marriage at all |
| Dower | yes | yes (proper or specified, whichever is less) | no |
| Children | legitimate | legitimate | illegitimate |
| Iddat | yes | yes | no |
| Mutual inheritance | yes | no | no |
| Maintenance under classical law | yes | no | no |
An irregular marriage becomes valid once the obstacle is removed, for example when the first wife dies or the fifth wife's predecessor is divorced. Shia law has no irregular category. A marriage is either valid or void.
Stipulations in the contract
Because nikah is a contract, the parties may add lawful terms. The husband may promise not to take another wife, or to let the wife live with her parents. He may delegate to her a power to divorce herself if he breaks a term. Such terms are valid if they are not against Muslim law or public policy.
The leading cases
Abdul Kadir v. Salima (1886) ILR 8 All 149. A husband sued for restitution of conjugal rights, and the wife resisted for unpaid prompt dower. The Full Bench held that marriage is a civil contract whose pillars are declaration and acceptance. Dower is a legal incident of the marriage, and its mention is not essential to validity. This settles the formal essentials.
Chand Patel v. Bismillah Begum, AIR 2008 SC 1915. A man married his wife's sister while his first marriage subsisted. She later claimed maintenance for herself and her daughter. The Supreme Court held that unlawful conjunction makes the marriage irregular, not void, under Hanafi law. The marriage subsists until lawfully ended, so the wife and child were entitled to maintenance. This shows the effect of a relative prohibition.
Buffatan Bibi v. Sheikh Abdul Salim, AIR 1950 Cal 304. An antenuptial kabinnama allowed the wife to live at her father's house on disagreement and required monthly payments. If the husband failed to pay for six months, she could divorce herself. The Calcutta High Court held that a husband may delegate his power of divorce to the wife, and such a stipulation is valid. The wife must prove that its conditions were fulfilled. This shows the marriage contract carrying binding terms.
A second marriage and the first wife
A Muslim man may lawfully have up to four wives, but the law does not leave the first wife without protection. Under section 2(viii)(f) of the 1939 Act, a wife may seek divorce where the husband, "if he has more wives than one, does not treat her equitably in accordance with the injunctions of the Qoran".
Itwari v. Asghari, AIR 1960 All 684. A husband took a second wife while the first was living with her parents. When she claimed maintenance, he sued for restitution of conjugal rights. The Allahabad High Court refused the decree. It held that a husband's right to take a second wife does not entitle him to force the first wife back. Restitution is an equitable remedy, and the court will not order it where that would be unjust to her.
Shia and Sunni law compared
| Point | Sunni (Hanafi) | Shia (Ithna Ashari) |
|---|---|---|
| Witnesses | required | not required |
| Irregular marriage | recognised | not recognised; void instead |
| Temporary marriage (muta) | not recognised | recognised |
| Marriage with a kitabia | valid | valid only as muta, on the traditional view |
Registration and the child marriage law
Some States provide for registration of Muslim marriages, but a marriage is not invalid only because it was not registered. The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 makes child marriage (girl under 18, boy under 21) an offence to solemnise. In Karnataka, section 3(1A) declares a child marriage solemnised after the State amendment void from the start. A student in Karnataka should state this beside the classical rule on puberty.
Conclusion. A valid Muslim marriage needs competent parties who consent freely and who are free of any prohibition. It also needs a proposal and acceptance at one meeting, witnesses under Sunni law, and dower. Breach of an absolute bar makes it void, and breach of a relative bar makes it irregular, as Chand Patel shows. Abdul Kadir and Buffatan Bibi confirm that the marriage is a contract, capable of carrying lawful terms.
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