The parties were married informally in 2000, and formally on 7 June 2006. Since 2000, they had lived together and had three children (aged 11, 6, and 5). Initially, the marriage was harmonious, but by December 2008 it had become quarrelsome. The applicant submitted that the respondent was never content with the amount of money with which he provided her, despite the applicant contributing the majority of his monthly income to the marriage every month (IDR 900,000). Problems escalated in October 2014, culminating in the applicant forcing the respondent to relocate to her parents' home, while the applicant stayed with his parents. The parties lived apart, did not communicate, and the applicant did not provide the respondent with any financial support.
The applicant sought permission from the court to divorce the respondent. Three days before the second court hearing, however, the respondent submitted that she and the applicant had been physically intimate together. The applicant did not deny this and the court held that such intimacy between the parties was indicative of a happy and harmonious marriage. Therefore, the applicant no longer had grounds for divorce pursuant to art 39(2) of Law No. 1 of 1979, in conjunction with art 19 of Government Regulation No. 9 of 1975, and art 116 of the Compilation of Islamic Laws. On this basis, the court dismissed the applicant’s request for permission to divorce and ordered him to pay court costs (IDR 316,000).