MFLO 1961 § 6 — Polygamy

Statutory text (English)

(1) No man, during the subsistence of an existing marriage, shall except with the
previous permission in writing of the Arbitration Council, contract another marriage, nor shall any
such marriage contracted without such permission be registered under this Ordinance.

(2) An application for permission under sub-section

(1) shall be submitted to the Chairman in the
prescribed manner together with the prescribed fee, and shall state the reasons for the proposed
marriage, and whether the consent of existing wife or wives has been obtained thereto.

(3) On receipt of the application under sub-section

(2), the Chairman shall ask the applicant and
his existing wife or wives each to nominate a representative, and the Arbitration Council so
constituted may, if satisfied that the proposed marriage is necessary and just, grant, subject to such
conditions, if any, as may be deemed fit, the permission applied for.

(4) In deciding the application the Arbitration Council shall record its reasons for the decision,
and any party may, in the prescribed manner, within the prescribed period, and on payment of the
prescribed fee, prefer an application for revision, 1[to the Collector] concerned and his decision shall
be final and shall not be called in question in any Court.

(5) Any man who contracts another marriage without the permission of the Arbitration Council
shall—
(a) pay immediately the entire amount of the dower, whether prompt or deferred, due to the
existing wife or wives, which amount, if not so paid, shall be recoverable as arrears of
land revenue ; and
(b) on conviction upon complaint be punishable with simple imprisonment which may extend
to one year, or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, or with both.

Source and verification

Source citation: Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 (Ord. VIII of 1961) s.6: Pakistan Code portal consolidated official PDF 'THE MUSLIM FAMILY LAWS ORDINANCE, 1961' (Ord. No. VIII of 1961), p. 4, ingested 2026-09-15. Automated transcription from official source (pypdf extraction, audited artifact repair); human admin re-check required before production. Replaces earlier partial/condensed placeholder text (v2).

Verification status: verified · Text status: auto_transcribed_verified_source

The record cites an official source, but its transcription is automated or only partly checked; a human re-check is pending.

Official Urdu text status: pending_official_urdu_text. Where official Urdu wording has not been sourced, Qanoon does not substitute an unverified translation for the statutory text.

Historical text notes

1 historical record is linked to this section. Historical wording may be incomplete or pending verification; it is not presented as current law.

• Date not confirmed: Consolidated current text as published in the official Pakistan Code PDF (p. 4) — reflects all amendments recorded in the official footnotes up to ingest date 2026-09-15. Automated transcription replacing the earlier…

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