Constitution petition dismissed in illegitimate child case
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This case was about a father, Zaheer Ahmad, who was ordered by the Family Court to pay monthly maintenance for a minor child, a decision upheld by the Appellate Court. The father challenged this before the Lahore High Court, arguing he should not have to pay because the child was illegitimate. His reasoning was that the child was born on 7 November 2004, about eleven months and five days after his wife had already left him in desertion on 2 December 2003, implying the child could not be his.
The High Court rejected this argument and dismissed the petition. It held that questions of a child's legitimacy carry serious, far-reaching consequences and must not be decided lightly or merely on a husband's accusations. A child born within a lawful marriage is presumed legitimate, and this presumption is strong under Islamic law, summarized in the principle that "the child follows the bed." Mere denial by the father, without strict and credible proof to the contrary, is not enough to displace this presumption. The court also noted that the father had never pursued the proper legal procedure of Li'an (the formal process for a husband to disown a child by oath) in a competent court.
Since there was no solid evidence proving illegitimacy, the court upheld the lower courts' rulings, affirming the child was legitimate and entitled to maintenance from the father. This case reinforces how strongly Pakistani law protects children's legitimacy and maintenance rights.
یہ مقدمہ ایک باپ، ظہیر احمد سے متعلق تھا، جسے فیملی کورٹ نے نابالغ بچے کے لیے ماہانہ نان و نفقہ ادا کرنے کا حکم دیا تھا، اور اپیلٹ کورٹ نے بھی اس فیصلے کو برقرار رکھا تھا۔ باپ نے اس فیصلے کو لاہور ہائی کورٹ میں چیلنج کیا اور موقف اختیار کیا کہ اسے نان و نفقہ ادا کرنے کا پابند نہیں کیا جانا چاہیے کیونکہ بچہ ناجائز تھا۔ اس کی دلیل یہ تھی کہ بچہ 7 نومبر 2004 کو پیدا ہوا، یعنی اس کی بیوی کے اسے چھوڑ کر جانے کے تقریباً گیارہ ماہ پانچ دن بعد، جبکہ بیوی نے اسے 2 دسمبر 2003 کو ترک کر دیا تھا، جس کا مطلب یہ تھا کہ بچہ اس کا نہیں ہو سکتا۔
ہائی کورٹ نے اس دلیل کو مسترد کرتے ہوئے درخواست خارج کر دی۔ عدالت نے قرار دیا کہ بچے کی نسب سے متعلق سوالات کے سنگین اور دور رس نتائج ہوتے ہیں، اس لیے انہیں سرسری طور پر یا محض شوہر کے الزامات کی بنیاد پر طے نہیں کیا جا سکتا۔ جائز نکاح کے دوران پی
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Citation Name : 2007 CLC 1145 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE Side Appellant : ZAHEER AHMAD Side Opponent : Mst. NASIMAN BIBI alias NASIM BIBI ---S. 5---Constitution of Pakistan (1973), Art. 199---Constitutional petition---Legitimacy of child ---Maintenance---Family Court as well as Appellate Court burdened the father with monthly maintenance of the minor child ---Father denied maintenance on the ground that child was born on 7-11-2004, at a point of time when the spouse had been living in desertion since, 2-12-2003 and the child was born after 11 months and 5 days from desertion---Validity---Father was denying maintenance to the child , disowning him as his issue and accusing mother of the child of having given birth to an Illegitimate child ---Question of legitimacy of child had a far reaching impact, therefore, determination of such question should not be taken lightly---Allegation by husband, or his act of disowning child born out of wedlock, should not be given weight, without strict proof in such regard to the contrary---Paternity of child born out of lawful wedlock, had a presumption of truth in its favour---Simple denial would not take away status of legitimacy and according to Islamic Law, "child follows the bed"---Every presumption was made in favour of legitimacy of child and was presumed to be an issue of his parents without any acknowledgement or affirmation of parentage on the part of father---Courts had always leaned in favour of legitimacy of a child , in absence of any cogent evidence to the contrary---No proof on record was available to support the contention of father that child was Illegitimate ---Moreso, when father had not approached the court of competent jurisdiction for Li'an thus the child who was born in wedlock was a legitimate child and as such entitled to be maintained by father--Judgments and decrees passed by two Courts below were maintained---Petition was dismissed in circumstances.