Shia Law Inheritance Judgment
PLJ 2008 · Sindh High Court
This case involved a dispute over the inheritance of Syed Hassan Asghar Taqvi, a police officer (SIP) who was killed in a terrorist attack in 2004. His mother and his wife both claimed shares in his estate, including his service benefits, death compensation, and salary that would have been paid until he turned 60.
The mother argued that the wife should be excluded from inheritance because the deceased had allegedly divorced her before his death, with the divorce supposedly taking effect by the time he died. She relied on affidavits from two witnesses claiming to have witnessed the divorce.
The trial court had already ruled that under Shia law, the widow and children were not excluded from inheritance, and that the mother was entitled to a one-sixth share while the rest went to the widow and children. The trial court also ordered the police department to pay salary arrears and continuing pension to the widow, deposit death compensation and other dues with a court official for distribution, and invest the minor children's shares until they came of age or married.
On appeal, the Sindh High Court rejected the mother's divorce claim as fake, pointing out the suspicious fact that the witness affidavits were dated the very day of the alleged divorce, which made no logical sense. The court upheld the trial court's order as legally sound, confirming the shares under Shia inheritance law and the entitlement of the widow and children to the deceased's benefits. The appeal was dismissed.
یہ مقدمہ سید حسن اصغر تقوی کی وراثت کے تنازع سے متعلق ہے، جو ایک پولیس افسر (ایس آئی پی) تھے اور 2004 میں ایک دہشت گرد حملے میں شہید ہو گئے تھے۔ ان کی والدہ اور اہلیہ دونوں نے ان کی وراثت میں اپنے حصے کا دعویٰ کیا، جس میں ان کی سروس مراعات، وفات کا معاوضہ، اور وہ تنخواہ شامل تھی جو ان کے ساٹھ سال کی عمر کو پہنچنے تک ادا کی جاتی۔
والدہ کا مؤقف تھا کہ بیوہ کو وراثت سے خارج کر دیا جائے کیونکہ مرحوم نے مبینہ طور پر اپنی وفات سے پہلے اسے طلاق دے دی تھی، اور یہ طلاق ان کی وفات کے وقت تک مؤثر ہو چکی تھی۔ اس دعوے کی بنیاد انہوں نے دو گواہوں کے حلف ناموں پر رکھی جن میں یہ دعویٰ کیا گیا تھا کہ انہوں نے طلاق ہوتے ہوئے دیکھی تھی۔
ٹرائل کورٹ پہلے ہی یہ فیصلہ دے چکی تھی کہ شیعہ قانون کے تحت بیوہ اور بچوں کو وراثت سے خارج نہیں کیا جا سکتا، اور یہ کہ والدہ چھٹے حصے کی حق دار ہیں جبکہ باقی ترک