Court issues non-bailable warrants over unpaid child maintenance

LAHORE: A family court has issued non-bailable arrest warrants for a man for failing to pay court-ordered maintenance for his two minor daughters.

Family Judge Muhammad Mudassar ordered the immediate arrest of Mohammad Safeer and also directed that his movable and immovable property be seized. The court further ordered that the property be auctioned to secure payment of the maintenance amount.

Non-bailable arrest warrants were also issued for the guarantor, Mohammad Ikram.

According to the case record, the court had earlier ordered the accused to pay Rs15,000 per month for each of his two daughters, who are aged 12 and 10, and to continue doing so until their marriage. However, he did not comply with the order and had not made the payments for several months.

Court order on maintenance

The court observed that providing maintenance to children is both a legal and moral responsibility of the father and said the obligation must be fulfilled.

The order came in a case concerning non-payment of child support despite a standing direction from the family court. In addition to ordering the arrest of the accused, the court moved to enforce the maintenance order through attachment of property and its auction.

The case involves maintenance for two minor girls, and the court’s ruling set out both coercive and recovery measures after the father failed to comply with the payment order. The amount fixed by the court was Rs15,000 per month for each child.

The daughters, according to the case details, are 12 and 10 years old. The maintenance was to remain payable until their marriage. The court noted that the father had refused to follow the order and had withheld payment for months, prompting the latest action.

With the issuance of non-bailable warrants for both the accused and his guarantor, the court has sought immediate enforcement of its earlier ruling. It also directed the seizure of both movable and immovable assets belonging to the accused so that the due maintenance can be recovered through auction proceedings. "Providing maintenance to children is both a legal and moral obligation of the father and must be fulfilled," the court stated in its order.