Transforming Maintenance Neglect and Verbal Abuse into Indicators of Broken Marriage: An Analysis of Religious Court Decision Number 383/Pdt.G/2025/PA.Ska

Abstract

Divorce cases in Indonesian Religious Courts are frequently associated with economic neglect and domestic conflicts. However, judicial practice often does not position violations of maintenance obligations and verbal abuse as independent grounds for divorce. Instead, these factors are generally construed as causes of continuous disputes and quarrels that ultimately lead to the breakdown of marital relations. This study aims to analyze the legal construction employed by judges in examining divorce cases caused by the husband's failure to provide maintenance and verbal abuse, as well as to evaluate its conformity with Islamic law and Indonesian positive law. This research employs normative legal research using statute, case, and conceptual approaches. The primary source of data is Decision Number 383/Pdt.G/2025/PA.Ska of the Surakarta Religious Court, supported by legislation, Islamic legal doctrines, and relevant scholarly literature. The findings reveal that the judges did not treat economic neglect and verbal abuse as independent legal grounds for divorce. Rather, both factors were considered causes of continuous disputes and quarrels as stipulated in Article 19(f) of Government Regulation Number 9 of 1975 and Article 116(f) of the Compilation of Islamic Law. The study further finds that the judicial reasoning reflects the concept of broken marriage and substantively aligns with the objectives of Islamic law (maqāṣid al-syarī‘ah), particularly the prevention of harm and protection of family welfare. The novelty of this study lies in demonstrating how violations of maintenance obligations and verbal abuse are transformed by judicial reasoning into indicators of permanent marital breakdown rather than being treated as separate legal grounds for divorce.