LAHORE (MNN); In a landmark judgment strengthening the financial rights of women, the Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that a wife’s entitlement to Haq Mehr (dower) remains fully protected when a marriage is dissolved due to the husband’s cruelty, abuse or misconduct, even if the family court formally issues the decree as Khula.
Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, while dismissing a petition filed by a husband, upheld a family court’s decision awarding 50 percent of the deferred dower to the former wife and issued comprehensive legal guidelines aimed at preventing the automatic forfeiture of dower in matrimonial disputes.
According to court records, the couple married on March 18, 2022, with a deferred dower of Rs100,000. Shortly after the marriage, the wife approached the family court seeking dissolution of marriage, alleging that her husband subjected her to physical and verbal abuse after she demanded payment of her dower.
She further accused him of remaining unemployed, engaging in theft, abusing intoxicants and forcibly expelling her from the matrimonial home.
A Senior Civil Judge (Family Division) in Toba Tek Singh dissolved the marriage and, under Section 10(4) of the Family Courts Act, 1964, awarded the wife half of the deferred dower.
The husband challenged the decision before the Lahore High Court, arguing that after the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) declared Sections 10(5) and 10(6) of the Family Courts Act unconstitutional in 2022, family courts no longer possessed the authority to award any portion of dower in cases where marriages were dissolved.
Rejecting this argument, Justice Kayani clarified that the law clearly distinguishes between Khula sought solely due to a wife’s unwillingness to continue the marriage (Khula simpliciter) and dissolution granted because of the husband’s misconduct or cruelty (Nashuz).
The court held that under Sections 2 and 5 of the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939, where a wife successfully proves statutory grounds such as physical, psychological, verbal or financial abuse, her right to dower—whether prompt or deferred, paid or unpaid—cannot be reduced, forfeited or affected.
Justice Kayani further ruled that allegations of cruelty are civil matters and must be decided on the balance of probabilities rather than the criminal standard of proof.
The judgment also clarified that a wife’s credible testimony can be sufficient evidence before a family court and does not necessarily require medical certificates, police reports or other documentary proof.
The court observed that family courts cannot routinely convert a petition based on cruelty into an ordinary Khula decree without obtaining the wife’s informed and explicit consent.
Justice Kayani emphasized that unpaid deferred dower constitutes a legally enforceable debt owed by the husband and cannot be extinguished merely because a decree is labelled as Khula.
“Dower is a proprietary right arising from the marriage contract. It is neither a punishment for the husband nor a discretionary benefit that may be withheld by a family court,” the judgment stated.
The court further explained that a woman’s right to dissolve her marriage and her right to receive dower are two separate legal entitlements, each requiring an independent judicial determination.
Justice Kayani noted that confusion among trial courts arose after the Federal Shariat Court struck down Sections 10(5) and 10(6) without Parliament introducing replacement legislation, leading some family courts to incorrectly deny women their dower in nearly all dissolution cases.
To address this legal ambiguity, the judge recommended fresh legislation requiring family courts to independently determine the reason for dissolution before deciding the issue of dower and to expressly safeguard women’s dower rights whenever grounds under the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act are established.
The Lahore High Court also directed its Registrar to forward copies of the judgment to the Punjab Law and Parliamentary Affairs Department and the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan, urging them to draft amendments that explicitly protect women’s dower rights in marital dissolution proceedings.
