Muslim Man Can't Have Multiple Wives If He Can't Maintain Them: Kerala High Court

22-Sep-2025

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The Kerala High Court has observed that it cannot accept multiple marriages of a Muslim man when he has no capacity to maintain his wives, and one of them approaches the court claiming maintenance.

The observation was made by Justice PV Kunhikrishnan when a 39-year-old Perinthalmanna native approached the court seeking a monthly maintenance of Rs 10,000 from her husband, who survives by begging.

The judge noted that the husband was also not a saint. "Even though he is blind and a beggar, as stated by the petitioner, who is his second wife, he has been threatening her that he will soon enter into a third marriage with another woman," the court observed.

The court perused the petition and found that the respondent was receiving an income of Rs 25,000 from various sources, including begging, and that the petitioner had sought Rs 10,000 per month as maintenance. The respondent currently lives with his first wife.

The court also noted that it could not digest the contention of the wife that her blind husband regularly assaulted her.

However, while highlighting the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, the court said that judges are not robots. 

"Admittedly, the respondent belongs to the Muslim community, and he is taking the benefits of his customary law, which, according to him, allows him to marry twice or thrice. A person who has no capacity to maintain a second or third wife cannot marry again, even as per the customary law of Muslims," the court observed.