Skip to content
Mon–Sat, 9:00 AM – 10:00 PM0331 9999 129 Book a consultation

Home » Judgments » Supreme Court of Pakistan

A court cannot grant khula that the wife did not ask for, and she keeps her dower

Ibrahim Khan v. Mst. Saima Khan and others Supreme Court of Pakistan Civil Petitions Nos. 4657 to 4659 of 2022 Unreported Decided Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan and Justice Ayesha A. Malik (author)

Landmark judgment

Judgment at a glance

Legal issue
Where a wife seeks dissolution of marriage for cruelty, can the court on its own convert her claim into khula and make her give up her dower?
Decision
No. Khula and dissolution under the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939 are distinct rights with different consequences. Khula is the wife's exclusive and absolute right, needs no proof of fault and is given in return for release of dower; after pre-trial reconciliation fails, the court must decree it at once. Dissolution under section 2 requires a ground to be proved after evidence under section 11 of the Family Courts Act, and section 5 of the 1939 Act protects the dower. Khula cannot be granted unless the wife expressly asks for it, because she has to give up her dower under section 10(5) of the Family Courts Act, so her consent is vital. Here the wife pleaded cruelty and said she was not seeking khula, so the trial and appellate courts were wrong to grant khula and make her waive her dower. The evidence of the husband's divorce was not rebutted, and whether he divorced her or she was entitled to dissolution for cruelty, she was entitled to her dower of half a portion of the house. The husband's petitions were dismissed and leave refused.
Key principle
A court cannot of its own motion turn a wife's claim for dissolution on a ground under the 1939 Act into khula; khula must be sought by the wife in clear and unequivocal terms, because it costs her the dower.
Outcome
Dismissed
Relevant law
Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939, ss. 2, 5; Family Courts Act 1964, ss. 10, 10(5), 11; Principles of Mahomedan Law (Mulla), paras 319, 320
Why it matters
  • Wives: if you are not seeking khula, say so clearly in the plaint and at pre-trial reconciliation.
  • Khula and dissolution for cruelty lead to different results on dower, so choose the claim with advice.
  • Husbands: disputing the divorce will not by itself defeat a wife's claim to dower.

Cite as: Ibrahim Khan v. Mst. Saima Khan and others, Supreme Court of Pakistan, Civil Petitions Nos. 4657 to 4659 of 2022, decided 15 February 2024

Case details

Case
Ibrahim Khan v. Mst. Saima Khan and others
Bench
Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan and Justice Ayesha A. Malik (author)
Date of decision
Case number
Civil Petitions Nos. 4657 to 4659 of 2022
Citation
None known (unreported)
Outcome
Dismissed
Statutes considered
Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939, ss. 2, 5; Family Courts Act 1964, ss. 10, 10(5), 11; Principles of Mahomedan Law (Mulla), paras 319, 320
Topics
Dower, Khula

Sources

Our saved copy
PDF, saved
How this summary was made
Summary from the full judgment
Official text read on
Note on the text
The wife filed a composite suit on 7 August 2014 and a second suit on 18 October 2014; both were decided on 26 November 2015, and the appellate court ruled on 21 December 2016. The Peshawar High Court, Abbottabad Bench, decided the three writ petitions on 28 November 2022. The lower courts' findings on maintenance and dowry were left undisturbed as factual findings. The hearing and the judgment are both dated 15 February 2024. Approved for reporting. Short summary checked against the judgment.
Cite this summary
PK-Legal & Associates, "A court cannot grant khula that the wife did not ask for, and she keeps her dower", summary of Ibrahim Khan v. Mst. Saima Khan and others, Supreme Court of Pakistan, Civil Petitions Nos. 4657 to 4659 of 2022, decided 15 February 2024, https://pklegal.org/judgments/sc-2024-4657-khula-only-if-sought/ (reviewed 6 November 2026).