The parties were married on 21 August 2000 and had two children. Their marriage had been harmonious for the first seven years, but by the beginning of 2007 it had become quarrelsome because, the applicant submitted, the respondent had carried on an extra-marital affair with another man on 1 November 2016. When the applicant learned of the respondent's extra-marital affair he left her, returning to live with his parents.
The parties had remained separated for the past month. Familial efforts to make the parties reconcile had been unsuccessful and the applicant, believing the parties' marriage was beyond repair, requested that the court grant him a revocable divorce (talak satu raj'i).
Despite the respondent's absence, the court, pursuant to art 19(f) of Government Regulation No. 9 of 1975, and art 116(f) of the Compilation of Islamic Laws, acceded to the applicant's request on the grounds of ongoing conflict. The court also cited Ar-Rum verse 21 from the Qur'an, as well as art 1 of Law No. 1 of 1974 on Marriage, regarding the supposed tranquility of marriage.