Supreme Court to examine validity of unilateral ‘Khula’; appoints amicus in challenge to Kerala High Court ruling
The Court will decide whether a Muslim woman can unilaterally terminate her marriage through Khula without the consent of her husband, raising a substantial question of Muslim personal law.
Ayush Kumar
17 February 2026
THE SUPREME COURT recently agreed to examine the constitutional validity of unilateral Khula and whether a Muslim woman possesses an absolute right to terminate her marriage without the consent of her husband. The issue arises from an appeal challenging a Kerala High Court judgment that upheld the unilateral nature of Khula as a right “akin to talaq”.
Khula is a form of divorce under Islamic law in which a Muslim woman seeks to dissolve her marriage by her own initiative, usually by returning the mahr (dower) or other benefits received from her husband.
A Division Bench of Justices P.V. Sanjay Kumar and K. Vinod Chandran granted leave to appeal the High Court’s decision. It appointed Senior Advocate Shoeb Alam as amicus curiae to assist the Court on questions involving Islamic jurisprudence.
The issue arises from an appeal challenging a Kerala High Court judgment that upheld the unilateral nature of Khula as a right “akin to talaq”.
Kerala High Court ruling under challenge
The appeal challenges the Kerala High Court’s 2022 judgment in a review petition. A Division Bench of Justices A. Muhamed Mustaque and C.S. Dias had held that a Muslim woman’s right to terminate her marriage through Khula is an absolute right directly granted by the Holy Quran. The review petition before the High Court had challenged its earlier ruling on the ground that recognising Khula as an absolute right departed from established clerical opinion and Islamic practice.
The High Court, however, characterised the review plea as an attempt by “hegemonic masculinity” and sections of the clergy to resist recognising Muslim women’s autonomy. It rejected the contention that the validity of Khula depends on the husband’s consent or pronouncement of talaq. It reasoned that making the wife’s right contingent on the husband’s approval would subordinate her autonomy to the will of her male counterpart.
While affirming the unilateral nature of Khula, the Bench laid down certain conditions for its validity, including a clear declaration of termination of marriage by the wife, an offer to return the dower (mahr) or other material benefits received during the marriage, and a prior attempt at reconciliation.