LAHORE, Feb 28: A full bench of the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) admitted on Wednesday 12 identical petitions on Khula or a plea by a woman for divorce, for hearing. The bench said the petitions would be heard at the principal seat and provincial branch registries.

A statement issued by the court read the petitions had raised the issue whether court was empowered to dissolve a marriage through Khula without the consent of a husband. The petitions stated that court had no power to dissolve a marriage without consent of a husband.

The bench observed that two Supreme Court judgments in 1945 and 1952 had held that court was not empowered to dissolve the marriage through Khula while another Supreme Court judgment in 1967 ruled that court was empowered to dissolve the marriage without the consent of a husband.

The full bench, consisting of Chief Justice Haziqul Khairi and justices Allama Dr Fida Muhammad Khan and Salahuddin Mirza, observed that there were two precedents — Jameela and Bareera cases — in the life of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) supporting Khula.

Deciding these cases, the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) observed tense relations between the husbands and their wives and ordered the men to divorce their wives against dower or property gifted to them.

The court will also consult religious scholars, lawyers and jurists apart from counsel of federal and provincial governments in the cases.