LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that properties may be transferred through verbal gifts based on natural love, affection, and personal service, and that depriving a legal heir alone does not invalidate such transfers unless malicious intent is proven. Justice Anwaar Hussain made this statement while presiding over a complex inheritance dispute between the sons of two wives of a deceased property holder.
The case involved property mutations in favor of the respondent, which were allegedly executed through oral gifts. The petitioners, including Muhammad Naseem, represented by Advocate Mian Dawood, contended that such gifts, made with the intention to deprive other legal heirs, amounted to zarar (harm) and should be invalidated under Quranic injunctions and Hadith. They referred to the court’s earlier ruling in Liaqat Ali v. Shahnaz Akhtar (2025 LHC 693) to support their claim.
However, Justice Hussain clarified that applying the principles from the Liaqat Ali case to all similar matters without considering the specifics could lead to unjust decisions and undermine an individual’s right to lawfully dispose of their property during their lifetime out of genuine affection and service.
Advocate Abdul Qadus Rawal, representing the respondent, defended the decision of the lower courts, arguing that no fraud or collusion had been proven. He explained that the oral gifts were made out of natural affection, witnessed by individuals whose statements were recorded, and supported by the respondent’s written statement.
Justice Hussain acknowledged that in the Liaqat Ali case, the court had ruled that a gift made by a father to one heir out of animosity toward the other heirs, solely to disinherit them, constitutes zarar and is invalid according to Islamic principles.
