Sarabjeet Kaur's husband moves Pak court to annul her marriage, alleges conversion

In a fresh development in the cross-border case of Indian national Sarabjeet Kaur, her husband Karnal Singh has approached the Lahore High Court seeking annulment of her alleged marriage to Pakistani citizen Nasir Hussain, claiming that the marriage was contracted without legally dissolving her first marriage in India.

The case dates back to November 4 last year, when Sarabjeet Kaur travelled to Pakistan with a group of over 2,000 Sikh pilgrims on the occasion of Guru Nanak Dev Parkash Purv. While the group returned to India on November 13, she did not report for exit clearance and was later reported missing from the jatha. During her stay in Pakistan, she converted to Islam, adopted the name Noor Fatima, and married Nasir Hussain, citing an eight-year-old social media relationship, triggering legal and diplomatic scrutiny in both countries.

The latest petition filed by the Karnal Sing through Advocate Ali Changezi Sandhu, says that Sarabjeet Kaur continues to be legally married to Karnal Singh under Indian law, as no divorce has been obtained to date.

The petition includes allegations of forced conversion and claims that financial inducements were involved. It says that documentary evidence has been annexed, including material in which Nasir Hussain allegedly admits to sharing nude photographs and videos of Sarabjeet Kaur with her relatives.

According to the petitioner’s counsel, Pakistan’s constitutional courts, particularly the Federal Shariat Court, have laid down clear principles governing the marriage of a married non-Muslim woman who converts to Islam and seeks to marry a Muslim man. These principles require the woman to first obtain a judicial divorce in accordance with her domestic laws.

She must then formally invite her non-Muslim husband to embrace Islam in the presence of two witnesses. If the husband refuses, a 90-day waiting period must be observed before the marriage can be considered dissolved. Only after the completion of this process can she legally marry a Muslim man.

The petition contends that these legal requirements were not fulfilled in the present case. It further alleges that any cohabitation or physical relationship during the subsistence of the first marriage would amount to “zina” under Islamic law. The court has been requested to initiate criminal proceedings against Nasir Hussain on these grounds.

Karnal Singh has also sought directions for the deportation of Sarabjeet Kaur, alleging violations of Islamic legal principles, the Foreigners Act 1946, and the conditions of her pilgrimage visa. The plea additionally calls for the initiation of rape charges against Nasir Hussain, alleging that he knowingly entered into a marriage contract with a woman who was already married.

The petitioner has further requested the court to place Sarabjeet Kaur in a women’s shelter home until the matter is decided, facilitate communication between her and her husband and sons, and order a voice forensic examination of attached call recordings.

Earlier, the couple had approached the Lahore High Court, which directed authorities not to harass them. However, they were later caught by Pak's Punjab Police, and Kaur was shifted to a government-run shelter home in Lahore.

A petition was also filed in a Lahore sessions court seeking registration of an FIR against both Kaur and Hussain for alleged violations of immigration laws. The plea, moved by Advocate Ali Changezi Sandhu on behalf of former Pakistani Sikh legislator Mahinder Pal Singh, invoked Sections 22-A and 22-B of Pakistan’s Criminal Procedure Code and sought action by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). In January 2026, the sessions court sought a report from the FIA.

On February 13, Sarabjeet Kaur alias Noor left the shelter home and returned to her husband’s residence in Pakistan, stating that their relationship spans eight years and that she intends to spend the rest of her life there, despite a viral audio clip in which she had earlier expressed a desire to return to India to her first husband.

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