According to Shamim, her husband had not obtained a letter of consent from her prior to his second marriage. It is pertained to mention here that Islamabad High Court (IHC) had made it mandatory to obtain permission from reconciliation council for second marriage.
The court`s judgment was in coherence with Muslim Family Laws Ordinance- 1961.
According to the said court order, if a person enters into a second marriage by obtaining permission from his first wife but reconciliation council refuses permission to him then he will be liable to be punished on a second marriage.
The court had ruled, “A man who intends to contract another marriage during the subsistence of an existing marriage has to observe the procedure and fulfill the conditions prescribed by the legislature otherwise the consequences of imprisonment or fine or both could ensue.”