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Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Case Background
  3. Court Proceedings
  4. Appeal and Writ Petition
  5. Court’s Analysis and Decision
  6. Conclusion

Introduction

The petitioners filed this writ petition under Article 199 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973, to challenge the decisions made by the Family Court, Swabi, and the Additional District Judge. The petitioners ask the court to cancel the orders on Issues Nos. 3 and 8.

Case Background

Respondent No.1, Mst. Saadia, filed Suit No.209/FC on 07.09.2015. She asked the court to recover:

  • Dower: Rs.100,000 and two tolas of gold.
  • Maintenance: Rs.15,000 per month from April 2015.
  • Dowry articles and her share in a 15-marla house.

Saadia said her first husband, Imran, died two years before the suit. She later married Petitioner No.1 (Imran’s brother). She claimed that her husband mistreated her and forced her out of the house five months before filing the suit.

Court Proceedings

The Family Court framed ten issues. After hearing the evidence and arguments, the court issued a partial decree on 29.01.2019:

  • Dower: Rs.2,000 (admitted by the husband).
  • Maintenance: Rs.10,000 per month from 07.04.2015, until cohabitation, the marriage sustains, or the Iddat period ends.
  • Dowry Articles: Recovery as per the defendants’ list.

The court dismissed claims for the house and gold. It granted the husband a conditional decree for restitution of conjugal rights, on the condition he pays dower and past maintenance.

Appeal and Writ Petition

The petitioners filed an appeal on 05.03.2019. The appellate court dismissed the appeal on 02.10.2019. The petitioners then filed this writ petition.

Court’s Analysis and Decision

Both parties hold decrees against each other. The husband’s decree for conjugal rights became final because no one challenged it. Attempts to reconcile failed, as Respondent No.1 refused to live with the petitioner.

The petitioners argued that:

  • The Family Court fixed the dower at Rs.2,000, not Rs.100,000.
  • The court granted maintenance based on the alleged non-payment of dower, but no evidence of mistreatment or forced eviction was provided.

Legal Principles Applied

Islamic law requires the husband to support his wife with food, clothing, and shelter. A wife may refuse to live with her husband if he fails to pay the dower, but she must justify this refusal. The court found no proof of mistreatment or valid reasons for separation.

Conclusion

The court allowed the petition. It reversed the decisions on Issues Nos. 3 and 8. The court rejected Respondent No.1’s claim for maintenance.

Petition allowed.

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