In a landmark decision, the Lahore High Court has declared marriage to the sister of a former wife in just nine days of divorce as illegal.
Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh issued an 11-page written verdict, clarifying the legal and religious stance on such marriages.
The written decision highlights that marrying the sister of the first wife whose iddat has not completed yet is tantamount to marrying two sisters simultaneously, which is prohibited under Islamic law. The court emphasized that a person cannot maintain simultaneous marriages with two sisters.
According to the ruling, marriages conducted under such circumstances will be deemed invalid. The judgment instructs the husband and wife to separate from each other immediately upon knowledge of the marriage having been annulled. Failure to do so will result in the responsibility falling on a cleric to dissolve the marriage.
The case in question involved Musawwir Hussain, who allegedly married his former wife's sister nine days after divorce. The court also dismissed the interim bail of the suspect who married his wife's sister without completing the iddat.