Shah Maqsood V. Khair-Un-Nisa and 2 others,
CLC 2021 561 · Balochistan High Court
This case involved a family dispute in Balochistan. A wife had filed a suit before the Family Court seeking maintenance for herself and her child, along with return of dowry articles, after her marriage broke down and she was left to live with her parents while pregnant and later after childbirth.
During the case, the wife asked for interim maintenance under Section 17-A of the Family Courts Act. The Family Court ordered the husband to pay interim maintenance while the case was pending. The husband ignored this order and repeatedly failed to pay despite being warned that his defence would be struck off if he did not comply. Eventually, the Family Court struck off his defence and decided the case in the wife's favour without recording further evidence, awarding maintenance for the wife and child, past maintenance, and maternity expenses. His appeal to the District Judge was also dismissed.
He then approached the Balochistan High Court, arguing the lower courts' decisions were unlawful. The High Court dismissed his petition. It held that a father is legally bound to maintain his minor children, that the order to pay interim maintenance was lawful and had never been challenged, and that the courts below had the power to strike off his defence and decide the case without evidence when he defied the maintenance order.
The judgment also emphasizes a broader legal principle: someone seeking relief from a court, especially under its constitutional/equitable jurisdiction, must come with "clean hands." Since the husband had disobeyed a lawful court order, he could not claim fairness from the High Court. This case reinforces both child maintenance obligations and the "
یہ مقدمہ بلوچستان میں ایک خاندانی تنازع سے متعلق تھا۔ ایک بیوی نے فیملی کورٹ میں اپنے اور اپنے بچے کے نان و نفقہ کے ساتھ ساتھ جہیز کے سامان کی واپسی کے لیے دعویٰ دائر کیا تھا، اس کے بعد کہ اس کی شادی ناکام ہو گئی اور اسے حمل کی حالت میں اور بعد ازاں بچے کی پیدائش کے بعد اپنے والدین کے ہاں رہنا پڑا۔
مقدمے کی کارروائی کے دوران بیوی نے فیملی کورٹس ایکٹ کی دفعہ 17-A کے تحت عبوری نان و نفقہ طلب کیا۔ فیملی کورٹ نے شوہر کو حکم دیا کہ وہ مقدمے کی سماعت کے دوران عبوری نان و نفقہ ادا کرے۔ شوہر نے اس حکم کو نظرانداز کیا اور بار بار ادائیگی سے انکار کیا، حالانکہ اسے خبردار کیا گیا تھا کہ عدم تعمیل کی صورت میں اس کا دفاع خارج کر دیا جائے گا۔ بالآخر فیملی کورٹ نے اس کا دفاع خارج کر دیا اور مزید شواہد ریکارڈ کیے بغیر بیوی کے حق میں فیصلہ سنا دیا، جس میں بیوی اور بچے کے نان و نفقہ، گزشتہ نان و نفقہ، اور زچگی کے اخراجات