Tuan Muthaliph Tuan Nazar vs A. A. M. Illyas – CA 531/2008-2013

The case between Tuan Muthaliph Tuan Nazar (Petitioner) and Vally Mohamed Haji Ahamed, Quazi for the Memon Community (1st Respondent), and M. Fathima Minna (2nd Respondent), addressed whether an order by the Special Quazi awarding ‘Mathah’ (compensation) to the divorced wife is lawful under the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act, No. 13 of 1951. It was determined that, as the Act does not expressly authorize the award of Mathah, such an order is a nullity. The judgment reaffirmed the principle that judicial or quasi-judicial bodies only possess those powers conferred upon them by statute. This determination relied on statutory provisions, including sections 2, 47, and 98 of the Act, and the principle of expressio unius est exclusio alterius, emphasizing that only powers expressly granted by l