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Bureau Prayagraj. The Allahabad High Court, while setting aside the divorce decree passed by the Banda Family Court, made a strong observation that the court granted divorce under a law which does not exist. The High Court expressed displeasure over the functioning of the judicial officer, terming the decision as extremely careless and informal.

A division bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Vivek Saran passed this order on the appeal of the husband, who had challenged the divorce order given to the wife by the Family Court in January 2026.

In this case, the wife had filed her petition under the Muslim Women Divorce Act, 1986, whereas no such law exists. The High Court said that perhaps the petition should have mentioned the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, 1939, which gives Muslim women the right to seek divorce.

The court said that mere mention of wrong law in the petition does not automatically make the order invalid if the trial court exercises jurisdiction under the correct law. However, in this case the Family Court itself repeatedly referred to the same non-existent law throughout its judgment and also granted relief under the same.

The High Court said, “It is the duty of the court to ensure that the law to which it refers is actually in existence. A mere error in the pleadings does not give the trial court the right to repeat the same error.”

The division bench said that the decision given on the basis of non-existent law is flawed both in law and fact. On this basis, the High Court canceled the order of the Family Court and sent the case back to the same court and directed it to pass a new decision as per the correct legal provisions.

The court clarified that there will not be a complete fresh trial and the Family Court can give its decision only on the basis of available evidence and records, unless it feels the need for additional evidence. The High Court directed the Family Court to give a new decision within three months.