Court restores women’s right to Haq Mehr, overturns lower court ruling denying payment
LAHORE:
If the time limit for payment of dowry (Haq Mehr) is not specified in the marriage contract, the husband is legally bound to pay it whenever the wife demands it, the Lahore High Court (LHC) ruled on Tuesday.
In a detailed six-page judgment, Judge Abid Hussain Chattha accepted a petition filed by a woman, Fatima Bibi. The petitioner had approached the court seeking recovery of alimony, dowry and dower amounting to five gold tolas.
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The LHC overturned a lower court’s decision that denied Mehr’s payment, declaring it legally flawed, thereby restoring Fatima Bibi’s right to receive the agreed dowry.
Earlier, a family court had ordered the petitioner’s husband to pay Rs 5,000 per month as maintenance, along with dowry, while rejecting Fatima Bibi’s dowry demand. Both parties challenged the decision before the trial court, which upheld the maintenance order, partially allowed the dowry demand by ordering payment of either certain items or Rs 250,000, but rejected the dowry demand.
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Challenging the decision, Fatima Bibi proposed the LHC, arguing that her legitimate right to dowry had been wrongly denied. The court agreed, noting that a woman remains entitled to receive her dowry whether or not her marriage ends.
The court upheld the appeals court’s findings regarding alimony and dowry, but ruled that its decision regarding dowry was incorrect. The LHC therefore reinstated the family court’s order against Mehr and partially granted the petition.
