Gauhati High Court recognises Talaq-E-Hassan as valid form of divorce

The Gauhati High Court's Single Judge Bench, led by Justice Arun Dev Choudhury, has upheld Talaq-E-Hassan as a valid and legally recognised form of divorce. The court referenced the Supreme Court's landmark judgment in Shayara Bano v. Union of India (2017), noting that this form of talaq is not prohibited under law.

The petitioner, who had pronounced Talaq-E-Hassan on three separate dates in 2026 with witnesses present, sought registration of the divorce. The court directed him to approach the jurisdictional Marriage and Divorce Registrar under the Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Act, 2024, rather than the repealed 1935 Act under which his earlier application was submitted.

The petitioner had cited cruelty and irretrievable breakdown of marriage after his wife left the matrimonial home in 2018 and did not return despite reconciliation efforts.