India, Jan. 12 -- The High Court has dismissed a writ petition challenging the requirement of obtaining permission from an arbitration council for a second marriage under Muslim family law.

As a result, the existing legal provision requiring council approval before contracting a second marriage remains in force, petitioner-lawyer Ishrat Jahan said.

The verdict was delivered in August last year by a bench of Justice Fahmida Kader and Justice Syed Jahed Mansur. The full judgment was published recently.

Under Section 494 of the Penal Code, 1860, contracting a second marriage without the consent of the spouse is punishable with imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine.

Later, the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961, introduced a specif...