📝 AI Summary — Plain-Language Overview
This case, decided by the Islamabad court and reported as 2010 YLR 1632, dealt with a dispute between a husband, Ali Abbas Khan, and his wife, Mst. Palwasha Khan, over whether she had the legal right to divorce herself.
The wife claimed that column 18 of their Nikahnama (marriage contract), which mentioned certain "Shary Haqooq" (religious/legal rights), amounted to the husband delegating to her the power of Talaq-e-Tafweez, meaning the right to pronounce divorce on his behalf. Based on this claim, she sent a divorce deed to her husband and informed the Chairman of the Arbitration Council, who then issued a certificate confirming the divorce was effective.
The husband challenged this through a constitutional petition, arguing he never delegated any such power to his wife, that the general wording in column 18 did not amount to a specific delegation of divorce rights, and that the Arbitration Council had acted without lawful authority in certifying the divorce.
The court agreed with the husband. It held that a wife does not automatically have a religious or legal right to divorce herself unless the husband specifically and clearly delegates that power. General or vague wording in column 18 was not enough to establish such delegation. Since the husband denied giving this right, the court ruled the divorce deed had no legal effect and set aside the Arbitration Council's order.
This case is important because it clarifies that specific, clear delegation of divorce rights is required in the Nikahnama, and vague references cannot be presum
یہ مقدمہ، جس کا فیصلہ اسلام آباد کی عدالت نے کیا اور جو 2010 YLR 1632 کے نام سے رپورٹ ہوا، ایک شوہر علی عباس خان اور اس کی بیوی مسماۃ پلوشہ خان کے درمیان اس تنازعہ سے متعلق تھا کہ آیا بیوی کو خود کو طلاق دینے کا قانونی حق حاصل تھا یا نہیں۔
بیوی کا دعویٰ تھا کہ ان کے نکاح نامے کے کالم نمبر 18 میں مذکور بعض "شرعی حقوق" اس بات کے مترادف ہیں کہ شوہر نے اسے طلاقِ تفویض کا اختیار دے دیا تھا، یعنی شوہر کی طرف سے طلاق دینے کا حق۔ اسی دعوے کی بنیاد پر اس نے طلاق نامہ اپنے شوہر کو بھیجا اور ثالثی کونسل کے چیئرمین کو بھی مطلع کیا، جس نے طلاق مؤثر ہونے کی تصدیق کرتے ہوئے سرٹیفکیٹ جاری کر دیا۔
شوہر نے اس عمل کو آئینی درخواست کے ذریعے چیلنج کیا اور موقف اختیار کیا کہ اس نے کبھی بھی اپنی بیوی کو ایسا کوئی اختیار تفویض نہیں کیا، کالم نمبر 18 کے عمومی الفاظ
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Citation Name : 2010 YLR 1632 ISLAMABAD Side Appellant : ALI ABBAS KHAN Side Opponent : Mst. PALWASHA KHAN Ss.5 7 & 8—Constitution of Pakistan (1973), Art. 199—Constitution petitioner—Dissolution of marriage—Exercising power of Talaq-e-Tafweez— Respondent / wife sent a divorce deed to petitioner / husband on the basis of purported exercise of right of divorce allegedly delegated to her by the husband endorsed in column No.18 of Nikahnama– Wife also sent copy of divorce deed to the Chairman Arbitration Council along with notice under S. 8 of Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 for constitution of Arbitration Council—Husband had alleged that he never gave any right of divorce to wife nor any such powers were endorsed at the time of Nikah—Husband had also alleged that impugned order rendered by Chairman Arbitration Council was against the law and without authority as the “Shary Haqooq” as mentioned in column No.18 of Nikahnama, would not mean that he had delegated the right of divorce to wife—Husband had asserted that certificate of effectiveness of divorce was issued by the Council without any lawful authority—Wife had contended that she had rightly exercised the power of Talaq-e-Tafweez given to her by the husband in column No.18 of the Nikahnama and that Chairman Arbitration Council had rightly issued certificate of effectiveness of Talaq—Validity—Held, it was not a Shari Right of a wedded woman to get divorce upon herself without specific delegation of such power by the husband—Counsel for respondent / wife had not been able to prove that a woman could divorce upon her as a Shari Right—Words mentioned in column No.18 of Nikahnama, did not vest any power in wife to exercise right of Talaq-e-Tafweez—No power was delegated by the husband to wife to exercise right of Talaq-e-Tafweez upon her—If such type of words were allowed to be considered as a right of Talaq-e-Tafweez, it would mean that whatever was incorporated against column No.18, would be presumed as a Talaq-e-Tafweez—Husband in the present case had specifically denied that no such power was given to wife at the time of Nikah—Divorce deed, in circumstances, was executed without any legal basis by the wife and same had no value in the eye of law—Impugned order passed by Chairman Arbitration Council was also not in accordance with law and was liable to be set aside.