Family suits should be filed seperately
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This case involved a husband, Chan Zeb, who had earlier obtained an ex-parte decree from a Family Court in Haripur for restitution of conjugal rights, meaning the court had ordered his wife to return to the marriage. His wife, Mst. Khalida Shaheen, later filed a separate suit seeking recovery of her dower (money or property owed to her under the marriage contract). The husband challenged this separate suit, arguing that under the Family Courts Act, 1964, all disputes between spouses, including claims like dower, should have been raised together in the same case as the restitution suit, not filed separately.
The Peshawar High Court rejected this argument. It clarified that the law only requires that claims for restitution of conjugal rights and dissolution of marriage be combined and decided together, so that one spouse cannot block the other by filing separate competing suits on those two specific issues. However, other matters such as dower, dowry, maintenance, and recovery of a wife's personal property are not required to be combined with those suits and can be filed and decided independently in separate proceedings.
The court held that the law is meant to help spouses get justice quickly, not create hurdles. Since there was no legal bar to filing a separate dower suit, the petition was dismissed. This ruling clarifies which family-related claims must be joined together in family court litigation and which can proceed separately.
اس مقدمے میں شوہر چن زیب شامل تھا جس نے ہری پور کی فیملی کورٹ سے بحالی ازدواجی حقوق کے لیے پہلے ہی یک طرفہ ڈگری حاصل کر لی تھی، یعنی عدالت نے اس کی بیوی کو ازدواجی رشتے میں واپس آنے کا حکم دیا تھا۔ اس کی بیوی مسماۃ خالدہ شاہین نے بعد میں اپنے حق مہر (نکاح نامے کے تحت واجب الادا رقم یا جائیداد) کی وصولی کے لیے الگ سے دعویٰ دائر کر دیا۔ شوہر نے اس الگ دعوے کو چیلنج کرتے ہوئے موقف اختیار کیا کہ فیملی کورٹس ایکٹ 1964 کے تحت میاں بیوی کے مابین تمام تنازعات، بشمول حق مہر جیسے دعوے، بحالی ازدواجی حقوق کے مقدمے کے ساتھ ہی ایک ہی مقدمے میں اٹھائے جانے چاہیے تھے، نہ کہ الگ سے دائر کیے جاتے۔
پشاور ہائی کورٹ نے اس دلیل کو مسترد کر دیا۔ عدالت نے واضح کیا کہ قانون صرف یہ تقاضا کرتا ہے کہ بحالی ازدواجی حقوق اور فسخ نکاح کے دعوے اکٹھے کیے جائیں اور
Generated from the full judgment text below — not a substitute for reading the actual opinion.
PLJ 2007 Peshawar 6 (DB) [Abbottabad Bench Abbottabad] Present: Salim Khan and Hamid Farooq Durrani, JJ. CHAN ZEB--Petitioner versus Mst. KHALIDA SHAHEEN and another--Respondents W.P. No. 187 of 2006, decided on 23.6.2006. West Pakistan Family Courts Act, 1964 (XXXV of 1964)-- ----Ss. 9 & 12-A--Constitution of Pakistan, 1973, Art. 199--Amended to effect--Maintainability--Suit for restitution of conjugal rights and vice versa--Facilitated the parties and get dispute decided at one and same forum--Plea of restitution of conjugal rights shall be made in suit for dissolution and marriage and plea of dissolution of marriage shall be brought forward against suit for restitution of conjugal right and separate suit shall not be filed--Validity--Law has never been intended to create hurdle, problems and difficulties for the spouses or for Courts dealing with their matter--Held: Only the cases of restitution of conjugal rights and dissolution of marriage were prescribed to be dealt with in same proceeding while the cases of dower, dowry maintenance, recovery of personal property of the wife and any other related matters covered by provisions of the West Pakistan Family Courts Act, may be dealt with independently--Petition was dismissed. [P. 7] A & B Sardar Mumtaz Alam, Advocate for Petitioner. Date of hearing: 23.6.2006. Judgment Salim Khan, J.--The grievance of the present petitioner is that a suit between the parties was conducted at Haripur and an ex-parte decree was passed in favour of the present petitioner for restitution of conjugal rights, but the respondent filed a Suit No. 73/F.C. for recovery of dower etc. on 28.1.2005, against the mandatory provisions of Section 9 read with Section 12-A of Family Court Act, 1964.
2. We heard the arguments of the learned counsel for the petitioner, who referred to the contents of Section 9 and contended that the plea of restitution of conjugal rights shall be made in a suit for dissolution of marriage, and the plea of dissolution of marriage shall be brought forward against the suit for restitution of conjugal rights, and separate suits shall not be filed in these circumstances. When confronted with the same contents of Section 9, the learned counsel for the petitioner was unable to show us anything in the said contents or in any other law to the effect that, even, suit for dower and maintenance allowance etc. could not be filed when a suit for restitution of conjugal rights had already been filed or decided.
3. In order to facilitate the parties and get their dispute decided at one and the same forum, without keeping the parties apart, or in different Courts, the law has been amended to the effect that let the plea for dissolution of marriage be decided alongwith the suit for restitution of conjugal rights and vice versa. The West Pakistan Family Courts Act, 1964, in its nature, specially with reference to its certain provisions, is a beneficial legislation, facilitating the parties to get justice as speedily as may be practicable. This law has never been intended to create hurdles, problems and difficulties for the spouses or for the Courts dealing with their matters. It was in this context that only the cases of restitution of conjugal rights and dissolution of marriage were prescribed to be dealt with in the same proceeding, while the cases of dower, dowry, maintenance, recovery of personal property of the wife and any other related matters covered by the provisions of the West Pakistan Family Courts Act, 1964 may be dealt with independently.
4. We do not find any merit in the present writ petition which is hereby dismissed in limine. (Rafaqat Ali Sohal) Petition dismissed