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A wife who says she was orally divorced cannot later claim the marriage continues for lack of a certificate

Nusrat Sadiq v. Nadeem Asghar etc. Lahore High Court W.P. No. 72122 of 2021 2025 LHC 3883 Decided Justice Anwaar Hussain (Lahore)

Judgment at a glance

Legal issue
Where the wife herself pleaded that her husband pronounced talaq three times by telephone, and he admitted it, does her maintenance run on until a Union Council divorce-effectiveness certificate is issued?
Decision
No. Her own plaint asserted the divorce and claimed deferred dower on that basis, and the husband admitted it in his written statement filed through his attorney; admitted facts need not be proved, and a husband may plead and depose through an attorney. In those circumstances the absence of an effectiveness certificate did not nullify the divorce, which the Court described as a procedural formality on these facts. Having accepted dower as a divorced wife, she could not take the contradictory position that the marriage subsisted. Maintenance was rightly limited to March 2013 to March 2016 plus the iddat period, with a 10% annual increase; the child's maintenance and the dower finding were left as decided.
Key principle
Where both spouses plead and admit that talaq was pronounced, the wife cannot claim maintenance on the footing that the marriage subsists merely because no divorce-effectiveness certificate has been issued; a party may not take contradictory positions.
Outcome
Dismissed
Relevant law
Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961, s.7; Constitution of Pakistan 1973, Art. 199
Why it matters
  • Plead consistently: claiming divorce for one purpose and an ongoing marriage for another will fail.
  • An admitted oral talaq can end the maintenance period even without a certificate.
  • Get the Union Council process completed anyway, for records and remarriage.

Cite as: Nusrat Sadiq v. Nadeem Asghar etc., 2025 LHC 3883, Lahore High Court, W.P. No. 72122 of 2021, decided 2 June 2025

Case details

Case
Nusrat Sadiq v. Nadeem Asghar etc.
Bench
Justice Anwaar Hussain (Lahore)
Date of decision
Case number
W.P. No. 72122 of 2021
Citation
2025 LHC 3883
Outcome
Dismissed
Statutes considered
Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961, s.7; Constitution of Pakistan 1973, Art. 199

Sources

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How this summary was made
Summary from the full judgment
Official text read on
Note on the text
The appellate court (2 August 2021) awarded the wife Rs. 60,000 a month from March 2013 to March 2016 plus three months' iddat (the trial court had allowed it until a divorce-effectiveness certificate), and the child Rs. 70,000 a month with a 10% (not 20%) annual increase; the dower finding was maintained. The husband said he had paid the Rs. 500,000 dower to an arbitrator who misappropriated it. The decision date shown is the date of hearing (2 June 2025); no separate announcement date is recorded. Approved for reporting. Short summary checked against the judgment.
Cite this summary
PK-Legal & Associates, "A wife who says she was orally divorced cannot later claim the marriage continues for lack of a certificate", summary of Nusrat Sadiq v. Nadeem Asghar etc., 2025 LHC 3883, Lahore High Court, W.P. No. 72122 of 2021, decided 2 June 2025, https://pklegal.org/judgments/lhc-2025-3883-wife-asserted-oral-divorce/ (reviewed 3 November 2026).