ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) in its judgment on Wednesday ruled that the husband is bound to pay dower to wife whenever she demands.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Qazi Faez Isa, in a three-page verdict, pronounced that Shariah ordains right to dower (haq mahr) to woman at the time of marriage (nikah). He said that country’s law also protects the right of the woman.
If the time of payment of dowry is not specified in the marriage certificate (nikah nama), the wife can demand it any time, he observed.
The CJP referring to the case lamented that the wife had to move court to get her (Sharai) right and had to go through a lengthy legal battle. It took her six years to reach the Supreme Court, he wrote in his verdict.
He criticized lower courts who did not penalize the husband for filing unnecessary appeals. “If the man was fined for filing unnecessary appeals, it would not have been taken too long to decide the case. Filing of unnecessary appeals is paralyzing the judicial system,” he observed.
Justice Qazi Faez Isa said that the courts should not hesitate to impose fines to end unnecessary litigation.
The CJP directed Khalid Parvez to pay Rs100,000 fine, the cost of legal proceedings along with dower to his wife Samina and dismissed his appeal.
