HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD LUCKNOW FIRST APPEAL No. - 203 of 2025 Court No. - 2 HON'BLE MRS. SANGEETA CHANDRA, J. HON'BLE SYED QAMAR HASAN RIZVI, J. 1. Heard the learned counsel for the appellant and the learned counsel for the Respondent. 2. This Appeal has been filed challenging the Judgment and Order dated 24.10.2025 passed by the learned Principal Judge Family Court, Lucknow, in Misc. Case No.771 of 2025 [Shakeel Ahmad Vs. Rahiba alias Nikki] by which a Divorce Petition filed by the plaintiff under Section 7 of the Family Court's Act 1984, has been rejected. 3. It has been submitted that Appellant-Shakeel Ahmad, married the Respondent- Rahiba @ Nikki, in 2007. Thereafter, one daughter was born out of the wedlock in 2008. The Respondent went away from the matrimonial home in 2014 and is staying in her parental house. The appellant went to the parental home of the Respondent to bring her back. She refused to come. Thereafter, the appellant filed a Suit for Restitution of Conjugal Rights before the Family Court registered as Original Suit No.2821 of 2015 [ Shakeel Ahmad Vs. Rahiba alias Nikki]. Despite service of notice, the Respondent did not appear in the case. An ex-parte order was passed on 19.05.2018 allowing the Suit and the Family Court, Lucknow, directed the Respondent to join the company of Versus Counsel for Appellant(s) : Bhupendra Nath Tripathi, Mithilesh Kumar Chaudhary Counsel for Respondent(s) : Shakeel Ahmad .....Appellant(s) Rahiba @ Nikki .....Respondent(s) the appellant within a period of one month and perform her matrimonial obligations. Even after deriving knowledge of the judgment passed by the Family Court, the respondent refused to come to the matrimonial home, she instead filed the maintenance application on 15.02.2024 under Section 125 of the Cr.P.C. claiming maintenance of Rs.40,000/- for herself and her daughter to be maintained. The Maintenance application has been registered as Criminal Miscellaneous Case No.277 of 2024. The appellant has filed his written statement on 05.07.2024 in the said case. Since, the appellant and the Respondent were living separately since long, and the appellant belongs to a reputed family, and the appellant was facing ridicule in the Society, the appellant decided to divorce the Respondent. In view of law settled by the Supreme Court in the case of Rakesh Raman Vs. Kavita reported in 2023 SCC OnLine SC 497, where there has been a long period of continuous separation, it can be treated as a cause for irretrievable break down of marriage. The appellant according to Shariat law divorced the Respondent and thereafter filed an application for declaration as aforesaid under Section 7 of the Family Court's Act. 4. The Family Court's Act in its order has inexplicably observed that since the appellant is governed by Shariat law he shall continue to be governed by the same and there is appropriate remedy of divorcing the spouse in said Shariat law as per conditions laid down in such law. Since the conditions may not have been met by the appellant, he does not wish to divorce his wife according to Shariat law and wants a decree from the Family Court's instead. 5. The counsel for the appellant has placed reliance upon the First Appeal No.495 of 2024 [Smt. Hasina Bano Vs. Mohammad Ehsan] decided on 12.09.2024 by one of us [Hon'ble Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi, J.] sitting in Division Bench, Neutral Citation No.- 2024:AHC:149103-DB, and has referred to Paragraph-16 of such judgment which is being quoted hereinbelow:- FAPL No. 203 of 2025 2 "16. It is pertinent to flag at this stage that the Family Court, in exercise of its jurisdiction as per Explanation (b) of S.7 of the Family Court Act, 1984, is duly competent to endorse an extra- judicial divorce and declare matrimonial status of a person. Therefore, in the case of mubara' at, the Family Court is competent to declare 'divorce', on being satisfied that both the parties, so agreeing to dissolve their marital-tie by mutual consent are major and same are acting by their own free will. The declaration of the matrimonial status of the parties by the Family Court as contemplated under Section 7 of the Family Court's Act, 1984, is a judicial endorsement of even the extra-judicial divorce. " 6. The counsel for the appellant has stated that as per law settled by a Division Bench of this Court, a Decree for declaration of marital status can be granted by the Family Court under Section 7 and he had only asked for a Decree for Declaration under Section 7 of the Family Court Act. 7. Having gone through the impugned judgment and also the law settled by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court, we find that the order impugned has been passed in a summary manner without examining the law on the subject, therefore, we set aside the order dated 24.10.2025 and remit the matter to the Family Court to decide afresh, strictly in accordance with law. 8. The Original Suit No.2821 of 2015 [Shakeel Ahmad Vs. Rahiba alias Nikki] shall stand restored to the Board of the Family Court Judge. 9. Accordingly, the First Appeal stands allowed. November 27, 2025 N.PAL FAPL No. 203 of 2025 3 (Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi,J.) (Mrs. Sangeeta Chandra,J.) Digitally signed by :- NARESH PAL High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench Digitally signed by :- NARESH PAL High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench