Srinagar, Aug 24: Upholding the decision of a single bench, a division bench of High Court has dismissed an appeal seeking cancellation of an appointment order of a woman appointed as Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teacher after her Nikah Ceremony had taken place to a person in whose village the post was available.
  “The Court finds no flaw in the Single Bench order to uphold the candidature of the candidate who was selected as teacher under ReT,” said the division bench order.
 The Court pronounced the decision in case of Asma Nabi, after her counsel, Peer Shafiq Ahmad pleaded that she was the resident of Shilpora Islamabad (Anantnag) on the basis that she was married to Mehdi Parvez Khan hailing from the village of Shilpora.
 Asma had filed a copy of Nikhanama along the writ petition in support of her claim that she was the resident of the village where her husband was living.
 The ReT appointment order of the teacher was, however, cancelled on March 17, 2009 following an order of additional Deputy Commissioner Islamabad  (Anantnag) on March 16, 2009 wherein the Permanent Residence Certificate (PRC) of the candidate was nullified on the grounds that only Nikah ceremony does not make her a permanent resident of the village where she was to be married off.
  In the single bench order, Court of Justice Imtiyaz had relied on the division bench Judgment of Jammu and Kashmir High Court in case of Mushtaq Ahmad Bhat vs Parvaiz Akhtar, wherein the court has ruled that marriage under Muslim law is essentially a civil contract.
 “The civil contract creates a permanent relation based on the mutual consent on the part of a man and a woman, between whom there is no bar to a lawful union,” the DB Judgment in Mushtaq Ahmad Bhat’s case has said.
 “The law does not insist upon any particular form in which contract of marriage should be entered into nor even that the contract must be evidenced by any writing marriage under Muslim Law like other contract under the contract act is constituted by offer/declaration and acceptance or “Ijab” and “ Kabul” that is concluded and called as “akd” or contractual obligation,” the judgment cited by the Single bench said.
 As per Muslim Personnel Law, it is following the “akd” that a man and a woman become husband and wife and rights and duties following out of the “akud” are to be respected by the parties.
 Woman after “akd” is for all intends and purposes wife of the man, who enterers into marriage contract with her and has the right to have marital relations with her husband.
 The marriage agreement or “akd” can be dissolved only in accordance of Muslim Law.
 “A Muslim marriage may involve a number of ceremonies like Nikah, Kabuliyat, Masnand Nishini, Baraat,Rukhsati, but having regard to nature of Muslim marriage, Nikah ceremony is the deciding event and the marriage is complete once Nikah ceremony is held, that is Ijab and Kabul,” explains the judgment.
 Senior Counsel for the appellant , Riyaz Ahmad Jan, had pleaded before the court that Manjeet Kour was entitled to the post as Asma was not eligible on the cut off date as her marriage ceremony was not formalized until then.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 24 Aug 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 24 Aug 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:00:00 IST