LHC rules wife entitled to dower on demand if timing not specified
Pakistan
LHC rules if no time for dower payment is set in nikahnama, it must be paid on wife’s demand. Court restores woman’s mehr right, overturning trial court decision.
LAHORE (Muhammad Ashfaq) - The Lahore High Court has issued an important ruling regarding the payment of dower (mehr), stating that if no time for payment is specified in the nikahnama, the husband is bound to pay it upon the wife’s demand.
The court approved the petition of a female applicant seeking payment of her dower and set aside the trial court’s decision that had denied her this right.
Justice Abid Hussain Chattha of the Lahore High Court issued a six-page written verdict on the petition filed by Fatima Bibi.
The judgment stated that the petitioner had filed a claim against her husband for maintenance, dowry, and recovery of 5 tolas of gold as dower.
According to the verdict, the family court had ordered a monthly maintenance of Rs5,000 along with payment of dower, while rejecting the dowry claim.
Both parties challenged the family court’s decision in the trial court, which upheld the maintenance, ordered partial dowry or payment of Rs250,000, but dismissed the dower claim.
The petitioner then approached the Lahore High Court against the trial court’s ruling, stating that the decision regarding dower was incorrect and that her legal right had been denied.
The court observed that even if the marriage between husband and wife has not ended, the wife remains entitled to dower.
It ruled that the trial court had erred in its decision regarding dower and restored the family court’s ruling on the matter, partially allowing the petition.
