An Indian national has moved the Lahore High Court seeking annulment of the marriage of his wife Sarabjeet Kaur with a Pakistani citizen, claiming that the marriage was contracted without lawful dissolution of the first.

 

Petitioner Kernal Singh, currently residing in the United Kingdom, filed the petition through his attorney Mahinder Pall Singh (UK). The case was submitted locally through Advocate Ali Changezi Sandhu.

 

According to the petition, Sarabjeet Kaur contracted nikah with Nasir Hussain without obtaining a judicial divorce from her Indian husband. The petitioner maintains that his marriage with Ms Kaur remains valid under the law.

 

Arguing the case, the petitioner’s counsel submitted that constitutional courts in Pakistan, including the Federal Shariat Court, have laid down principles governing the marriage of a married non-Muslim woman with a Muslim man after conversion. He stated that “a married non-Muslim woman must first obtain a judicial divorce under the applicable domestic laws before entering into a second marriage.”

 

The counsel further argued that the law requires a married non-Muslim woman who converts to Islam to invite her non-Muslim husband to embrace Islam in the presence of two witnesses and to wait for 90 days for his response. If the husband refuses to convert, the marriage may then be dissolved, he submitted, adding that these procedures were not followed in the present case.

 

The petitioner’s counsel maintained that due to non-compliance with the prescribed legal process, the marriage between Kernal Singh and Sarabjeet Kaur continues to subsist. 

 

The petition also requested the court to order deportation of Ms Kaur under the Foreigners Act, 1946, alleging violations of the terms of her pilgrimage visa. It further sought annulment of the Nikah between Ms Kaur and Nasir Hussain and initiation of criminal proceedings against both respondents, as deemed appropriate by the court.

 

The petitioner also requested that Ms Kaur be placed in a women’s shelter home until the matter is adjudicated.

 

According to the case record Sarabjeet Kaur, aged 48, travelled to Pakistan via the Wagah border to attend the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak at Gurdwara Janamasthan, Nankana Sahib. She later converted to Islam, adopted the name Noor, and subsequently contracted nikah with Nasir Hussain.

 

The petition has been fixed for hearing on Wednesday before Justice Farooq Haider.