The Lahore High Court’s Multan Bench has ruled that a wife can legally live separately from her husband until her full dower (haq mehr) is paid, reaffirming that dower is an enforceable legal right. The court further stated that a husband remains responsible for the maintenance and financial support of his wife after marriage until all legal obligations arising from the marriage contract are fulfilled.
Justice Muzammil Akhtar Shabbir delivered the verdict while dismissing a constitutional petition filed by Irfan Sarfaraz. The court found no constitutional violation or legal flaw in the decisions of the lower courts and upheld their findings. As a result, the petitioner’s challenge failed to establish any grounds for interference by the high court.
While explaining the legal status of dower, the court observed that a husband is bound to pay the amount or property agreed upon at the time of marriage. The judgement clarified that a wife has the lawful right to refuse cohabitation and maintain a separate residence until the agreed dower is fully paid, making the obligation legally enforceable.
The case originated from a claim filed by the wife in 2016, a year after the marriage took place in 2015. She sought five tolas of gold, four kanals of agricultural land and a constructed five-marla house as dower. Later, the appellate court directed the husband to provide four kanals of land, five tolas of gold and Rs300,000 as the value of the dower property.
The petitioner argued that he had already paid Rs400,000 in place of the agricultural land and claimed that two witnesses were present during the transaction. However, the court noted that he failed to produce those witnesses or any documentary evidence. It observed that such a substantial payment without receipts or supporting records was difficult to accept as credible.
The court also considered the petitioner’s claim regarding the five-marla property and noted that lawyers from both sides acknowledged that the plot had already been provided. Consequently, the court accepted that portion of the claim but found no justification to overturn the remaining findings. After reviewing the entire record, the Lahore High Court upheld the lower courts’ decisions and dismissed the petition.