FAZI Vs. MOHD CHOPAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE parties to this revision petition, namely, Mst. Fazi, the petitioner and Mohamad Chopan, the respondent, who happened to be wife and husband respectively, appointed Mufti Bashir -ud -Din, Mufti Azam as the arbitrator, to settle the dispute as to whether or not Mst. Fazi could claim divorce for her husband on the ground that the latters father had forcibly, committed sexual intercourse with her, as a consequence whereof she had become pregnant. The arbitrator entered upon the reference and declared Mst. Fazi "Haram" on her husband Mohamad Chopan, annulling thereby the marital relations existing between them.

(2.) MST . Fazi later on moved an application for making the award a rule of the court and passing a decree in accordance therewith in the Court of Munsiff Magam. The parties appeared in the court get the award filed in it and the court after considering the objection raised by them, passed a decree annulling the marriage.

(3.) AGGRIEVED by the aforesaid order, Mohamad Chopan challenged the Same an appeal before Sub Judge(CDM) Srinagar. The Appellate court being of the opinion that the trial court had failed to advert itself to the fact as to whether of not the arbitration agreement had been actually signed by Mst. Fazi, which in its opinion was sine qua non for a valid reference to the arbitrator, set aside the order of the court refusing to set aside the award, and remitted the case back to it, after framing two additional issues which read as under: