Dhaka, Jan. 11 -- The High Court has upheld the provision in Muslim family law that requires permission from an arbitration council, not the first wife's consent, for a second marriage.

In a verdict delivered in August and published in full in December, a bench of Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Sayed Jahed Mansur dismissed a writ petition seeking to make a wife's consent mandatory for a husband's second marriage.

The ruling means the existing provision under Section 6 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 remains in force, requiring a husband to obtain prior approval from an arbitration council before contracting another marriage.

Supreme Court lawyer Ishrat Hasan, who filed the petition in January 2022, told bdnews24.com that ...