The case of Bombay High Court on Narasu Appa Mali1 is a yet another significant case in this

regard in which a sharp distinction was drawn between religious faith, belief and practices and it
was submitted, that ‘personal laws’ ought to be examined, in the light of the overarching goal of
gender justice, and dignity of women.

It was submitted, that ‘personal laws’ ought to be examined, in the light of the overarching goal
of gender justice, and dignity of women. The underlying idea behind the preservation of
‘personal laws’ was, to safeguard the plurality and diversity among the people of India.
However, the sustenance of such diverse identities, according to the learned Attorney General,
cannot be a pretext for denying women their rightful status and gender equality.

It will bring uniformity in the Nikah Namas.

 It will expedite the judicial process.
 It will simplify the Maulvi task.
 It will help simplify the terms of the marriage.
 It will gradually minimise the chances of any erroneous data.
 It will protect any party any party from taking undue advantage of the other party.
 It will encourage women to seek judicial redressal.

The Nikah-Nama can be understand as a binding contract and a fundamental element of an

Islamic marriage which describes the rights and obligations agreed upon by both parties (the
bride and the groom) which confirm the consent of both the husband and the wife. The Nikah-
Nama is the detailed legal marriage contract that legitimizes the marriage.

The common perception is that Islam does not allow women the right to divorce and only the
husband can pronounce divorce. However this notion can be challenged. Section 18 of

1
AIR 1952 Bom 84, (1951) 53 BOMLR 779, ILR 1951 Bom 775
the Nikah-Nama in the Bangladesh law allows the wife the right to divorce if she wishes, which
is known as the Talaq-e-Tafweez.

 It will bring uniformity in the Nikah Namas.

 It will help simplify the terms of the marriage.
 It will expedite the judicial process.
 It will protect any party any party from taking undue advantage of the other party.
 It will encourage women to seek judicial redressal.

At present there is no “Model Nikahnama” in India which has a binding effect on all
marriages. Most people are unaware of the clause of the Nikah-Nama that gives women equal
rights as men to terminate the marriage.

In practice, however, things may be different, considering women often have to rely on their
family to allow them to tick this box. While it is a universal Islamic right that women can claim
while getting the marriage contract drafted, it is barely practiced in any country.

Most people are unaware of the clause of the nikah-nama that gives women equal rights as men
to terminate the marriage. Women can tick the box that gives them this right – but if this part of
the contract is unfilled, women have to rely on the khula (divorce proceedings). If a husband
refuses to divorce his wife, she has the right to obtain khula (divorce), through court. In this case,
a wife is required to pay her husband the mehr (the initial amount or possession the man is
mandated to give the wife at the time of the marriage), or any agreed amount to obtain her
freedom.