The parties were married on 4 June 1977 and had three children. The applicant submitted that the marriage had been harmonious until 5 March 2014, after which time the respondent refused to comply with the applicant's wish to sell the family home. The applicant maintained that he had wished to sell the home to provide his family with financial security following his own retirement. For the past two months, the parties had been sleeping in separate rooms, and the applicant's efforts to reconcile with the respondent had been in vain. Accordingly, he requested that the court grant him a divorce (talak).
In dismissing the applicant's request, the court found that the problem between the parties was not insurmountable, and that the respondent's lack of compliance with the applicant's wishes was because the applicant had intended to sell the family home, unbeknownst to the respondent. Moreover, the court believed it more important to save the parties' marriage, which had already survived the test of time. The court found that the purpose of marriage, as envisaged in art 1 of Law No. 1 of 1974 on Marriage, and art 3 of the Compilation of Islamic Laws, that being a happy and joyful family based on the principle of One Almighty God, was not lost. In addition, the applicant's grounds for divorce, being ongoing conflict pursuant to art 19(f) of Government Regulation No. 9 of 1975, and art 116(f) of the Compilation of Islamic Laws, was unfounded.