Women retain right to Haq Mehr if marriage ends over husband's cruelty: LHC

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has held that a woman does not lose her right to dower (Haq Mehr) if her marriage is dissolved because of the husband's cruelty or misconduct, even if the decree is recorded as khula.

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani issued the ruling while dismissing a petition filed by a husband against a family court order that awarded his former wife 50% of her deferred dower.

The case involved a couple who married in March 2022 with a deferred dower of Rs100,000. The wife later sought dissolution of the marriage, alleging that her husband subjected her to physical and verbal abuse, remained unemployed, was involved in theft and drug use, and forced her out of the house.

A family court in Toba Tek Singh dissolved the marriage and ordered the husband to pay half of the deferred dower. The husband challenged the order, arguing that after the Federal Shariat Court struck down parts of Section 10 of the Family Courts Act in 2022, family courts could no longer award dower following the dissolution of a marriage.

Rejecting the plea, Justice Kayani said there was a clear legal difference between a khula sought solely because a wife no longer wished to remain married and a dissolution granted on grounds of the husband's misconduct.

The court held that if a wife proves legally recognised grounds such as physical, verbal, psychological or economic abuse under the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939, her entitlement to dower remains intact.