Husband bound to give dower whenever wife demands: Supreme Court

ISLAMABAD, Dec 6 (SABAH): In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday ruled that the husband is bound to pay dower whenever wife demands.

Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, in a three-page verdict, pronounced that Shariah ordains right to dower (haq mahr) to woman at the time of marriage (nikah). The law of the land also protects the right of the woman, he added.

If the time of payment of dowry is not specified in the marriage certificate (nikah nama), the wife can demand it any time, the CJP observed.

Referring to the case, the CJP lamented that the wife had to move court to get her (Sharai) right and had to go through a lengthy legal battle. It took her six years to reach the Supreme Court, he wrote in his verdict.

Chief Justice Isa criticised lower courts who did not penalize the husband for filing unnecessary appeals. “If the man was fined for filing unnecessary appeals, it would not have been taken too long to decide the case. Filing of unnecessary appeals is paralyzing the judicial system,” he observed. The CJP said that the courts should not hesitate to impose fines to end unnecessary litigation.

The chief justice ordered Khalid Parvez to pay Rs100,000 fine, the cost of legal proceedings along with dower to his wife Samina and dismissed his appeal.