25/07/2025
سپریم کورٹ آف پاکستان نے بیوی کے بانجھ پن پر شوہر کےحق مہر یا نان نفقہ کی ادائیگی سے انکار کو غیر قانونی قرار دے دیا۔
عدالت میں مقدمے میں شوہر کے رویے پر اظہار برہمی کرتے ہوئے درخواست گزار صالح محمد پر 5 لاکھ روپے جرمانہ بھی عائد کر دیا۔ واضح رہے کہ مقدمے میں شوہر نے بیوی پر بانجھ پن اور عورت نہ ہونے کا الزام لگایا تھا ۔
عدالت نے اپنے فیصلے میں کہا کہ بانجھ پن حق مہر یا نان نفقہ روکنے کی وجہ نہیں۔ خواتین پر ذاتی حملے عدالت میں برداشت نہیں ہوں گے۔ شوہر نے بیوی کو والدین کے گھر چھوڑ کر دوسری شادی کر لی۔ پہلی بیوی کے حق مہر اور نان نفقہ سے انکار کیا گیا۔
سپریم کورٹ نے قرار دیا کہ عورت کی عزت نفس ہر حال میں محفوظ ہونی چاہیے۔ خواتین کی تضحیک معاشرتی تعصب کو فروغ دیتی ہے۔ مقدمے میں بیوی کی میڈیکل رپورٹس نے شوہر کے تمام الزامات رد کیے ہیں۔ خواتین کے حقوق کا تحفظ عدلیہ کی ذمہ داری ہے۔
سپریم کورٹ کے فیصلے میں مزید کہا گیا کہ اس کیس میں 10 سال تک خاتون کو اذیت اور تضحیک کا نشانہ بنایا گیا۔ جھوٹے الزامات اور وقت ضائع کرنے پر جرمانہ عائد کیا گیا۔ عدالت نے مقدمے میں ماتحت عدالتوں کے فیصلے برقرار
رکھے۔
It is a sorrowful truth of our society that infertility, or even the suspicion of it, is often weaponized against women. This social prejudice routinely results in courts of law becoming venues for humiliating a woman under the guise of litigation. However, it must be acknowledged without equivocation that infertility, (naeem)even if present, is no ground to deny a woman her dower or maintenance. It is certainly no ground to challenge her womanhood. To convert such personal pain into a legal weapon is not only an abuse of the process, but an affront to human dignity that should not be enabled.
It also bears emphasis that our religion and culture treat the marital bond as a sacred covenant. The Holy Quran has described the spouse as a garment; the relationship between a husband and wife is likened to that of libaas in our religion, and therefore, the ideals of protection, mutual respect, and dignity in marriage must not be compromised in any event.
Lest we forget: women in our society constitute a vulnerable group, whose dignity requires vigilant protection and care. The courts cannot, and will not, be passive venues for the perpetuation of social prejudices that harm women and subject them to one trauma after the other. It is not a matter of judicial discretion but of constitutional and moral obligation that the personal dignity of all who appear before the courts be duly safeguarded, particularly where the power imbalance between the parties is so manifest.
The power to award exemplary costs is one means by which the Court seeks to deter frivolous, abusive, and malicious litigation. In the present case, the petitioner has not merely wasted judicial time. He has caused a woman already in a position of(naeem) vulnerability to suffer degradation and personal trauma over the course of protracted litigation in three forums spread over a decade. This Court would be remiss in its duty were it to allow such conduct to pass without sanction.
Accordingly, this petition is dismissed with costs of Rs. 500,000/- (Rupees five hundred thousand only), imposed primarily as an expression of the strong disapproval of this Court towards the misuse of judicial process by the petitioner to inflict gratuitous humiliation upon the respondent, which shall be paid to the respondent. If the said amount of costs is not paid by the petitioner, the same shall be recovered by way of arrears of land revenue.
C.P.L.A.354-P/2025
Saleh Muhammad and another v. Mst. Mehnaz Begum and others
Mr. Justice Yahya Afridi
30-06-2025
