Under Section 6 of the Muslim Family Law Ordinance, 1961, Muslim men are prohibited from contracting a second marriage without prior permission from the Arbitration Council (Shalish Parishad) while a previous marriage remains valid. Any marriage conducted without such permission cannot be registered under the Muslim Marriage and Divorce (Registration) Act, 1974, making it legally unenforceable.
Barrister Ishrat Hasan challenged Section 6, arguing that the existing legal framework fails to ensure equality and non-discrimination among wives. She contended that the law does not provide adequate safeguards to guarantee justice, particularly as the Arbitration Council lacks a clear mandate to assess whether a husband is financially, physically, and mentally capable of maintaining multiple marriages.
In her petition, Ishrat Hasan raised four key concerns:
1) The potential for bias on the part of the Arbitration Council chairman
2) The exclusion of the first wife as a legal decision-maker
3) The absence of a requirement to assess the husband’s physical, mental, and financial capacity
4) The failure of the law to ensure non-discrimination and equal rights among wives
However, the Supreme Court dismissed the petition, leaving Section 6 unchanged. As a result, the Arbitration Council remains the legally mandated authority, and any second marriage contracted by a Muslim man without its permission continues to be unlawful under existing law.
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