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MAHR IN
INDIA
AUTHORED BY - MOHD. YASIN[1]
Introduction
Under Muslim Law, Mehr/M?hr means
money or ?r??erty which the wife is entitled to receive from the husband in
??nsider?ti?n of the marriage but this ??nsider?ti?n is not the same as the
civil ??ntr??t. Mehr gives fr?m the husb?nd to the wife as ? sign of respect
and ?r?vide wife for her subsistence after the dissolution of the marriage.
M?hr is often m?ney, it ??n ?ls? be anything agreed u??n by the bride such as jewellery,
h?me g??ds, ? ??mel, furniture, ? dwelling or some land. Under Section 125 of The
Code of Criminal Procedure[2],1973,
It is ?ls? ??nsidered while fixing the ?m?unt of m?inten?n?e.
M?hr is ty?i??lly specified in the
marriage ??ntr??t signed during ? marriage. It has to be given to the wife
however she is vested with the discretion to remit it. It need not be given b??k
even after divorce and it be??mes the ?r??erty of wife in ?er?etuity. ??yment
of M?hr is m?nd?t?ry even if marriage is not ??nsumm?ted. But, if the marriage
is not ??nsumm?ted, then the M?hr is half of the ?m?unt fixed. The husb?nd may
at any time increase the dower and the wife may remit the dower wholly or
??rtly. The remission of the M?hr by the wife is ??lled as Hib?tul M?hr or
Hib?-I-M?hr.[3]
Types Of
Mahr
·
Specified dower (m?hrul-mus?mm?): It is fixed at the time of marriage but is ?ls? fixed
after the marriage.
·
Unspecified dower (m?hrul missal): if no M?hr is fixed the wife will be entitled to
receive the ?m?unt which is ?ust?m?ry in the ??mmunity or the respective
s??iety or what is ?r??er in e??h individual ??se i.e., concerning the s??i?l
??siti?n of her father’s family, her ?ers?n?l qu?lifi??ti?ns, s??i?l ??siti?n
of the husb?nd, M?hr fixed e?rlier in the family, et?.
·
?r?m?t (mu?jj?l) and deferred (muv?jj?l)
M?hr: the
?r?m?t dower is ??y?ble immediately after the marriage but the deferred dower
be??mes ??y?ble either on the dissolution of the marriage or the h???ening of ?
specified event. Usually, one h?lf of the ?m?unt is ?r?m?t and ??id after the
marriage, while the ?ther h?lf is ??id on the dissolution of the marriage.
Right of
Dower to the Wife
·
Widows
right of retention
? widow whose dower remains un??id
has ? right to retain ?ert?in ?r??erties of the husb?nd till her dower debt is
satisfied. This is known as the right of retention in place of un??id dower and
is ?v?il?ble to ? widow, whether there is an agreement between the ??rties for
this right or not. If ? wife has taken ??ssessi?n of her husband’s ?r??erties
lawfully (with free ??nsent of the husb?nd) instead of un??id dower, then she
is entitled to retain that ??ssessi?n after the death of her husb?nd, until her
dower is ??id out of the ?r??erties retained by her.
This right ??n be exercised ?g?inst
the ?redit?r of her deceased husb?nd, if any, and his legal heirs. The legal heirs
??nn?t get ??ssessi?n (and benefit) of the ?r??erties of the deceased until
they make ??yments towards un??id dower in ?r???rti?n of their respective
shares. Thus this may be said to be ? ??rre?tive method of re??very of un??id
dower fr?m the husband’s legal heirs.
·
Enforcement of dower as debt
Where the marriage has been
??nsumm?ted, the wife ??n re??ver her un??id dower by maintaining an ??ti?n in
? ??urt of law. She may realize it fr?m her husb?nd, in the same manner, is ?
?redit?r re??vers his l??n. If the husb?nd dies, the widow is entitled to
re??ver the ?m?unt by filing ? suit ?g?inst the legal heirs of the deceased
husb?nd. The legal heir’s ?f the husb?nd
are not ?ers?n?lly liable to ??y the dower. The dower is ? debt ?g?inst the
estate ?f the deceased husb?nd which is inherited by the heirs.
·
Refusal of ??njug?l rights
Before the ??nsumm?ti?n of marriage,
the wife is entitled to deny ??h?bit?ti?n to the husb?nd till he gives her
?r?m?t dower on demand. Under Muslim law, a husb?nd has the right to ??h?bit
with his wife and she ??nn?t refuses the same without any re?s?n?ble excuse.
N?n-??yment of ?r?m?t dower before ??nsumm?ti?n is ? lawful justifi??ti?n by
the wife to refuse ??h?bit?ti?n. In
Rizw?n ?li Khan v. Nazma Siddiqui[4] Hon’ble
?ll?h?b?d High ??urt held that the right to dower ??mes into existence before
??h?bit?ti?n and ?r?m?t dower may be demanded even before the
??h?bit?ti?n. If the wife is minor or
insane, the guardian ??n refuse the husb?nd to take the wife till the ?r?m?t
dower has been ??id. If the minor or
insane wife is ?lre?dy with the husb?nd then the guardian ??n take the wife
?w?y on the grounds of n?n-??yment of dower. Where the ??nsumm?ti?n has taken
?l??e even ?n?e, the wife’s right to refuse ??nsumm?ti?n is lost and the
husband’s suit for restitution of ??njug?l right will not fail on the ground of
n?n-??yment of ?r?m?t dower.
In the ??se of ?nis Begus v. Muhammad
Ist?f? W?li Khan[5], the
wife and husb?nd lived together for some time and ? daughter was born to them.
Later on, the wife left the husband’s house and refused to ??me b??k till the
??yment of ?r?m?t dower. When the husb?nd ?l?imed for restitution of ??njug?l
rights, the ??urt held that the husband’s right to ?l?im ??njug?l rights was
not ?bs?lute. The ??urts have the discretion
to make the decree of restitution of ??njug?l rights ??nditi?n?l on ??yment of
wife’s un??id ?r?m?t dower, even when the marriage has ?lre?dy been
??nsumm?ted.
Conclusion
At one factor dower is taken into
consideration useful for girls because it gives safety at the time of marriage.
The Haq mahr is exclusive of the wife no relatives and not even the mother and
father of the wife has any right over the Haq mahr. The Quran mentions an
extraordinary purpose for giving Haq Mahr to a wife – It states that it is paid
as a present to a woman who leaves the security of her home and family and is
risking adjusting and staying in a strange set-up. It is an obligation on all
Muslim husbands and nobody is exempted from paying mahr to their wife. Indeed,
the reality is that in reality this legal cum nonsecular requirement has been
made a mockery of, where the amount constant is too petty. In India, there are
numerous such Muslim marriages solemnized in which the dower fixed at the time of
marriage while signing the nikah nama is simply barely “1 Rupee” so that in the
end there might be no need for the husband to pay the dower. Also, at times the
amount of dower is astonishingly constant so high that they're not able to pay.
[1] The author is a student at School
of Law, Galgotias University, Greater Noida.
[2] §125 Order for maintenance of wives, children and
parents.—(1) If any person having sufficient means neglects or refuses to
maintain— (a) his wife, unable to maintain herself, or (b) his legitimate or
illegitimate minor child, whether married or not, unable to maintain itself, or
(c) his legitimate or illegitimate child (not being a married daughter) who has
attained majority, where such child is, by reason of any physical or mental
abnormality or injury unable to maintain itself, or (d) his father or mother,
unable to maintain himself or herself.
[3] Carroll, L. (1985). MAHR
AND MUSLIM DIVORCEE’S RIGHT TO MAINTENANCE. Journal of the Indian Law
Institute, 27(3), 487–495. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43952254 (Accessed: 02 January 2024).
[4] S.A. (2009) ALL 1122
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