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Judgments on s.17, Guardians and Wards Act 1890
Pakistani court judgments that consider s.17, Guardians and Wards Act 1890, summarised in plain English, newest first. Each gives the issue, what the court held and what it means in practice, and is reviewed by an advocate.
5 judgments
A child’s preference must be heard, but within the whole welfare inquiry
Kashif Mehmood v. Saadia Fida etc.
Issue: How much weight should a court give a child's own preference in a custody case?
Held: A child capable of forming an intelligent preference must be meaningfully heard, but that preference is weighed with the child's existing care, education, stability and overall welfare rather than treated as a binding or isolated choice. Maternal custody and the…
s.17, Guardians and Wards Act 1890s.25, Guardians and Wards Act 1890
Children taken by force are returned to the mother pending the Guardian Court
Naseem Bibi v. Addl. Sessions Judge Sheikhupura and four others
Issue: Can a Sessions Judge refuse a mother's section 491 petition only because her children (about 16, 11 and 9) are not of…
Held: No. Section 491 also covers custody that is 'improper', and the remedy is not barred because the Guardian Court is available. The mother came to court at once alleging the father had forcibly taken the children from her on 20…
Art. 199, Constitution of Pakistan 1973s.17, Guardians and Wards Act 1890s.25, Guardians and Wards Act 1890s.491, Code of Criminal Procedure 1898
A former aunt by marriage cannot keep a child from the real mother
Mst. Nayyab Abbas v. Additional District Judge, etc.
Issue: Can a woman who raised a child under an 'adoption deed' made in favour of her then husband, the child's uncle, keep…
Held: No. The father had handed the child to the uncle under an 'adoption deed' of 7 November 2020 without the mother's consent, and the deed was in the uncle's favour alone; the uncle, now divorced from the petitioner, conceded the…
Art. 199, Constitution of Pakistan 1973s.17, Guardians and Wards Act 1890s.25, Guardians and Wards Act 1890
A mother’s remarriage does not by itself cost her custody
Nazia Saddique v. Additional District Judge, etc.
Issue: Should a ten-year-old who had always lived with his mother be moved to his father because she remarried and depends financially on…
Held: No. A mother's remarriage may lead to loss of custody, but it is not an absolute rule; the welfare of the child is paramount, and moving a boy who had lived with his mother all his life would likely cause…
Art. 199, Constitution of Pakistan 1973s.17, Guardians and Wards Act 1890s.25, Guardians and Wards Act 1890
Parents who lent a child to relatives can take her back
Nazir Ahmad etc. v. The learned Additional District Judge, Kasur etc.
Issue: Can a maternal uncle and aunt who were given temporary custody of one of twin girls, on condition that they return her…
Held: No. The parents' status as the girl's real parents was admitted, and admitted facts need no proof. However good the care the uncle and aunt provided, adoptive carers are not a substitute for the parents, and the welfare of the…
Art. 199, Constitution of Pakistan 1973s.17, Guardians and Wards Act 1890s.25, Guardians and Wards Act 1890