SC restricts khula without wife's consent

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has ruled that khula should not ordinarily be granted without a wife’s consent when she seeks dissolution of marriage on the grounds of cruelty and important financial rights are involved.

In a 12-page judgment authored by Justice Shahid Bilal, a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi held that if cruelty allegations are not proven but the marriage has clearly broken down, courts must give the wife a clear choice either to continue pursuing the cruelty claim or seek dissolution through khula with its legal consequences.

The case involved a woman who had filed for dissolution of marriage on grounds of cruelty, along with claims for 30 tolas of gold as dower and maintenance allowance.

The court observed that cruelty in matrimonial disputes is not limited to physical violence and may also include emotional abuse, humiliation, coercive control, neglect and other conduct that makes married life unbearable.

The judgment further clarified that allegations of cruelty in family courts are treated as civil matrimonial matters and are decided on the basis of probability, unlike criminal cases where allegations must be proven beyond reasonable doubt.

The court warned family courts against applying strict criminal-law standards in matrimonial disputes.

While upholding lower courts’ findings that the woman failed to prove cruelty, the Supreme Court noted that the marriage had effectively collapsed shortly after it began in 2016.

However, it ruled that khula should not have been granted without the woman’s informed and explicit consent. The matter was remanded to the family court to obtain her final decision regarding dissolution of marriage and conclude proceedings within 30 days.