LHC says husband must honour marriage commitments beyond dower

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has ruled that a husband is legally required to fulfil commitments made to his wife in a separate agreement executed at the time of marriage, in addition to the dower recorded in the nikahnama.

In an 11-page written judgment, Justice Muhammad Sajid Mahmood Sethi upheld a trial court ruling that directed a husband to transfer a five-marla house to his wife and dismissed his petition seeking to overturn that decision. The court held that the separate agreement made on the day of the marriage was legally enforceable.

According to the judgment, the woman had filed a suit seeking recovery of the five-marla house along with maintenance expenses for the iddat period. She maintained that, besides the dower mentioned in the marriage contract, her husband had separately undertaken to provide her with a five-marla house.

Dower is a legal right, court says

The court held that Haq Mehr is the wife’s legal entitlement and cannot be treated as a favour or an act of generosity by the husband. The judgment said that under Islamic law and family law, dower is regarded as a debt payable by the husband to the wife.

Justice Sethi also observed that a woman’s failure to demand Haq Mehr during the subsistence of marriage does not amount to giving up that right. The judgment noted that women may refrain from claiming dower because of social and domestic pressures.

The ruling further stated that dower can be settled verbally, in writing, or even after marriage, and added that Muslim law allows a husband to increase the amount of dower after marriage.

Court rejects forgery claim

The husband had argued that the document concerning the five-marla house was forged and had been prepared later. However, the judgment recorded that both attesting witnesses appeared before the court and confirmed the authenticity of the agreement.

The court held that the burden of proving forgery rests on the person making the allegation. It also noted that the husband had opposed forensic examination of the signatures and thumb impressions on the document, which the judgment said weakened his position.

The ruling added that family courts are expected to take account of social realities alongside technical legal questions, and that their central objective is to resolve family disputes with fairness, justice and balance.

Rejecting the husband’s arguments, the court ruled that the mention of only Rs5,000 as dower in the nikahnama did not invalidate the separate agreement under which the wife was promised the five-marla house.