ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that it is an obligation for a many to pay “haq mehr” whenever it is demanded by his wife.
Haq mehr is a sum of money or other property promised by the husband to be paid or handed to the woman in exchange for the marriage. It is decided at the time of nikkah.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faze Isa has issued a written verdict on a plea filed by a citizen named Khalid Parvez who had challenged the provision of Shariah right to his wife.
He ruled that the haq mehr is a Shariah requirement, which is also endorsed in the Pakistani laws.
If time frame for paying the haq mehr to wife is not mentioned in the Nikkah form, the woman can demand it at any time, the top court said.
The court lamented over long proceedings of the case in which woman is seeking under her Shariah right, saying it took six years to it reach the Supreme Court.
Rejecting the plea filed by Khalid Parvez, the SC remarked that if the lower courts had imposed fine on the complainant, the case would have not reached here.
It is recalled that the top court had imposed a fine of Rs100,000 on the petitioner during the previous hearing.
Pakistan’s top Islamic court rules women seeking Khula should return Haq Mehr to husbands
