India, June 25 -- The Telangana High Court has held that a Muslim wife has an absolute and unconditional right to dissolve her marriage through khula, and that the husband's consent is not a prerequisite for its validity, in a significant ruling that underscores the autonomy of Muslim women within personal law.

Khula is a form of divorce under Islamic law where a Muslim wife initiates the dissolution of her marriage, typically by relinquishing her claim to dower (mehr). It is a no-fault, non-confrontational divorce.

Delivering the judgment on Tuesday, a bench of Justices Moushumi Bhattacharya and BR Madhusudhan Rao noted that khula is a no-fault, non-confrontational mode of divorce, initiated solely at the wife's instance, and once the ...