ENACTMENT NO. 12 OF 1985 ADMINISTRATION OF ISLAMIC FAMILY LAW ENACTMENT 1985
PART V - DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE
Section 49. Order for dissolution of marriage or fasakh.
(1) A woman married in accordance with Hukum Syara’ shall be entitled to obtain an order for the dissolution of marriage or fasakh on any one or more of the following grounds, namely-
(a) that the whereabouts of the husband have not been known for a period of more than one year;
(b) that the husband has neglected or failed to provide for her maintenance for a period of three months;
(c) that the husband has been sentenced to imprisonment for a period of three years or more;
(d) that the husband has failed to perform, without reasonable cause, his marital-obligations (nafkah batin) for a period of one year;
(e) that the husband was impotent at the time of marriage and remains so and she was not aware at the time of the marriage that he was impotent;
(f) that the husband has been insane for a period of two years or is suffering from leprosy or vitiligo or is suffering from a venereal disease in a communicable form;
(g) that she having been given in marriage by her father or grandfather before she attained the age of sixteen years, repudiated the marriage before attaining the age of eighteen years, the marriage not having been consummated;
(h) that the husband treats her with cruelty, that is to say, inter alia-
(i) habitually assaults her or makes her life miserable by cruelty of conduct; or
(ii) associates with women of evil repute or leads what, according to Hukum Syara', is an infamous life; or
(iii) attempts to force her to lead an immoral life; or
(iv) disposes of her property or prevents her from exercising her rights under Hukum Syara' over it; or
(v) obstructs her in the observance of her religious obligations; or
(vi) if he has more wives than one, does not treat her equitably in accordance with the requirements of Hukum Syara';
(i) that even after the lapse of four months the marriage has still not been consummated owing to the wilful refusal of the husband to consummate it;
(j) that she did not consent to the marriage or her consent was not valid, whether in consequence of duress, mistake, unsoundness of mind, or any other circumstance recognized by Hukum Syara';
(k) that at the time of the marriage the wife was, whether continuously or intermittently, a mentally disordered person within the meaning of the Mental Disorders Ordinance 1952 [31/52] and her mental disorder was of such a kind or to such an extent as to render her unfit for marriage;
(l) any other ground that is recognized as valid for dissolution of marriages or fasakh under Hukum Syara'.
(2) No order shall be made on the ground in paragraph (c) of subsection (1) until the sentence has become final and the husband has already served one year of the sentence.
(3) Before making an order on the ground in paragraph (e) of subsection (1) the Court shall, on application by the husband, make an order requiring the husband to satisfy the Court within a period of six months from the date of the order that he has ceased to be impotent, and if the husband so satisfies the Court within that period, no order shal1 be made on that ground.
(4) No order shall be made on any of the grounds in subsection (1) if the husband satisfies the Court that the wife, with knowledge that it was open to her to have the marriage repudiated, so conducted herself in relation to the husband as to lead the husband reasonably to believe that she would not seek to do so, and that it would be unjust to the husband to make the order.