LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has ruled that a woman’s dower (Haq Mehr) cannot be forfeited only because she sought khula, ARY News reported.
According to reports, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani issued the 14-page verdict while rejecting a petition filed by the petitioner, Arsalan.
The petitioner had challenged a family court’s decision that directed him to pay dower to his former wife.
The court said there is a need for new legislation on the law related to Haq Mehr to remove legal confusion.
The judgment said physical, mental, emotional and financial abuse all fall under the definition of cruelty.
The court further ruled that the reliable testimony of a wife is enough to prove cruelty in such cases.
The Lahore High Court also said family courts have the legal authority to order the payment of Haq Mehr where it is due.
The court observed that merely obtaining khula does not automatically mean that a woman loses her right to Haq Mehr.
Earlier, the Supreme Court of Pakistan had declared illegal the tribal practice of denying women their share in inheritance, saying no custom or jirga can override Islamic law or the Constitution.
The ruling was given in a dispute over the inherited land of Mithi Khan. The judgment was written by Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, while the Supreme Court upheld the earlier decision of the Balochistan High Court.
The court said no person can claim ownership of property obtained through fraud. It also ruled that tribal customs used to stop women from getting inheritance have no legal status.
According to the judgment, depriving daughters of their inheritance is against both Islamic Sharia and the law. The Supreme Court of Pakistan also said a revenue record alone is not final proof of ownership, and if a property transfer is made through fraud, the entire legal basis of that transfer becomes invalid.
The Supreme Court further said inherited property must be divided only according to Islamic inheritance law. It added that there can be no compromise on women’s inheritance rights.
The judgment also made it clear that no jirga, tribal tradition or local custom is above the law or Islamic Sharia.
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