ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ruled that refusing a woman her right to mehr (dower) or financial support based on infertility is illegal and unjustified. The court dismissed the husband’s appeal and issued a strong warning against personal attacks on women in legal cases.
Chief Justice Yahya Afridi rejected the petition filed by Saleh Muhammad and fined him Rs500,000 for his behavior. The written verdict stated that he wrongly accused his wife of infertility and claimed she was “not a real woman.” However, the court made it clear that infertility cannot be used as a reason to deny a woman’s legal rights.
The ruling stated that the husband had abandoned his wife at her parents’ home and remarried without fulfilling her mehr and financial rights. The court stressed that a woman’s dignity must be protected under all circumstances, and personal insults in court would not be tolerated.
Moreover, the court highlighted that such attacks promote societal bias against women. It added that the wife’s medical reports disproved all of the husband’s accusations. The court described his actions as deeply offensive and harmful to the woman’s mental and emotional well-being.
The judgment emphasized that protecting women’s rights is the judiciary’s responsibility. The woman endured emotional abuse and humiliation for nearly 10 years due to false accusations. Despite this, she continued to seek justice through legal channels.
Upholding the decisions of lower courts, the Supreme Court dismissed the husband’s plea, punished him for wasting court time, and reaffirmed that a woman’s legal and human rights cannot be denied on unjust grounds.