LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that a husband is legally bound to fulfill commitments made to his wife in a separate agreement in addition to the dower (Haq Mehr) recorded in the Nikahnama.

The court issued this verdict as it upheld a trial court decision directing a husband to transfer a five-marla house to his wife.

The court dismissed the husband’s plea seeking to set aside the trial court’s verdict and declared that the separate agreement executed at the time of marriage was legally enforceable.

In an 11-page written judgment, Justice Muhammad Sajid Mahmood Sethi observed that the wife had filed a suit seeking recovery of a five-marla house and maintenance expenses for the iddat period.

According to the judgment, the woman maintained that her husband had separately promised on the day of marriage to provide her with a five-marla house, in addition to the dower mentioned in the marriage contract.

The court held that Haq Mehr is a legal right of the wife and not a favour or act of generosity by the husband. It noted that under Islamic and family laws, dower is treated as a debt owed by the husband to the wife.

The judgment emphasized that a woman’s failure to demand Haq Mehr during marriage cannot be construed as a waiver of her right, observing that women often refrain from claiming dower due to social and domestic pressures.

The court also noted that dower may be agreed upon verbally, in writing, or even after marriage, and that Muslim law permits a husband to increase the amount of dower after marriage.

It observed that family courts are required to consider social realities in addition to technical legal issues and their primary objective is to resolve family disputes with fairness, justice and balance.

The husband had argued that the agreement relating to the five-marla house was forged and prepared subsequently. The judgment noted that both attesting witnesses appeared before the court and proved the authenticity of the document.

The court further held that the burden of proving forgery lies on the person making such an allegation.

It observed that the husband had opposed forensic examination of the signatures and thumb impressions on the document, which weakened his stance. The judgment remarked that a person speaking the truth would ordinarily have no reason to fear scientific verification.

Rejecting the husband’s arguments, the court ruled that the mention of only Rs5,000 as dower in the Nikahnama did not invalidate or render ineffective the separate agreement promising the five-marla house to the wife.