Under the provisions of the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939, a woman married under Muslim law…

The Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act specifies four years of unknown whereabouts as a ground on which the wife may obtain dissolution. The two-year period concerns failure to provide maintenance, while seven years refers to a sentence of imprisonment. A decree based on unknown whereabouts does not take effect for six months, allowing the husband the statutory opportunity to appear and satisfy the court that he is prepared to perform his conjugal duties.