After prolonged deliberations among members of the clergy, M.A. Kazmi introduced a bill in the Central Legislature in 1936, detailing the grounds on which an aggrieved woman could ask for a judicial divorce. It tried to enact a stipulation that only a Muslim judge could dissolve the marriage of a Muslim woman. It is important to remember that the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Bill was a reformative measure but the government categorically warned the sponsors of the bill that if the provision about Muslim judges was insisted upon then the government would not proceed with the bill. Records show that the government’s stand was supported by an overwhelming number of members, Muslim and Hindu. This paved the way for the bill to become law without the attached condition.

The development greatly displeased the clergy. The Jamiatul Ulema, the main cleric institution that drafted the bill, termed the law in its modified form “more harmful than useful”. The Jamiatul Ulema made a fresh bid in 1940 and proposed new amendments, only to be turned down by the government. In 1945, M.A. Kazmi moved a new bill that avoided mention of kazi but provided for establishment of Muslim panchayats having petty judicial powers like village panchayats. This proposal too was rejected by the government. The new resolution of MPLB is the latest attempt to usurp judicial powers for the clergy and confer official authority on clerics who keep issuing fatwas but do not have either the official sanction or authority to enforce their decrees.

... contd.