Suit for Jactitation can save the husband from FIR
PLJ 2009 Cr.C. ( · Peshawar High Court
This case from the Peshawar High Court involved a woman, Mst. Umme Kulsoom, who had been divorced by her first husband, Muhammad Javed. After completing her waiting period (iddat), she freely married another man, Muzamil-ur-Rehman, and the couple had a child together.
Her former husband, however, refused to accept the divorce and claimed she was still his wife. He filed a police report alleging that she had left his home with cash and jewelry and eloped with Muzamil-ur-Rehman for the purpose of marriage. Based on this complaint, police registered a criminal case against her, her new husband, and others under the Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance, 1979, which criminalized sexual relations outside a recognized marriage.
Meanwhile, the woman had already filed a separate civil suit for "jactitation of marriage" in the Family Court, essentially asking the court to formally declare that she was not married to her former husband and to settle her dower and dowry claims.
The High Court found that since this civil matter was already pending before the Family Court, which had exclusive jurisdiction to decide the marital status dispute, there was no justification for pursuing a criminal case based on the same facts. The judge ruled that the FIR was an abuse of court process and quashed it, discharging the petitioners from their bail obligations.
This case illustrates how pending family court proceedings over marital status can protect individuals from being prosecuted under criminal law for the same dispute, preventing misuse of the Hudood laws to har
پشاور ہائی کورٹ کا یہ مقدمہ مسماۃ ام کلثوم نامی ایک خاتون سے متعلق ہے، جنہیں ان کے پہلے شوہر محمد جاوید نے طلاق دی تھی۔ عدت کی مدت پوری کرنے کے بعد انہوں نے اپنی مرضی سے مزمل الرحمٰن نامی شخص سے نکاح کر لیا، اور دونوں کے ہاں ایک بچہ بھی پیدا ہوا۔
تاہم ان کے سابق شوہر نے طلاق تسلیم کرنے سے انکار کر دیا اور دعویٰ کیا کہ وہ اب بھی ان کی بیوی ہیں۔ انہوں نے پولیس میں رپورٹ درج کرائی کہ خاتون نقدی اور زیورات لے کر گھر سے چلی گئیں اور مزمل الرحمٰن کے ساتھ شادی کی غرض سے فرار ہو گئیں۔ اس شکایت کی بنیاد پر پولیس نے خاتون، ان کے نئے شوہر اور دیگر افراد کے خلاف حدود آرڈیننس برائے نفاذِ زنا 1979ء کے تحت مقدمہ درج کر لیا، جو نکاح کے دائرے سے باہر جنسی تعلقات کو جرم قرار دیتا ہے۔
دوسری جانب خاتون نے پہلے ہی فیملی کورٹ میں "جیکٹیشن آف میرج" یعنی نکاح کی نفی کا دعویٰ دائر کر رکھا تھا، جس میں عدالت