Lahore High Court rules that a husband who married again without his first wife’s consent must immediately pay her dower of PKR 1 million, monthly expenses of PKR 15,000, and the value of her dowry, protecting wives’ financial rights and curbing unauthorized marriages.
LAHORE: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-Feb-14, 2026) . The Lahore High Court has issued a landmark ruling in a case where a husband married again without the consent of his first wife. The court ordered the husband to immediately pay the first wife her dower (mahr) amounting to PKR 1 million.
In addition, the court directed the husband to provide PKR 15,000 per month for expenses and an amount corresponding to the value of her dowry (jahez) until the divorce is legally effective.
The court approved the first wife’s petition for her dower, monthly expenses, and dowry value, stating that the ruling safeguards women’s financial rights and prevents arbitrary or unauthorized marriages. The judgment amended the previous trial court decision.
Justice Abid Hussain Chatha issued the eight-page written order on the petition filed by Mehnaaz Saleem, who had approached the Family Court seeking her dowry, expenses, and return of dowry items. The case revolved around three main issues: dower payment, monthly expenses, and the return/value of dowry items.
Previously, the Family Court in 2024 had ordered the husband to pay PKR 15,000 monthly during the waiting period (‘iddat’), settle the PKR 1 million dower in 45 monthly installments, and pay PKR 1,00,500 for the dowry items. Subsequently, both parties appealed against this decision in the Sessions Court, which partially accepted the husband’s appeal, reducing the dowry value to PKR 400,000 while canceling the monthly expenses order. The wife then approached the Lahore High Court challenging the Sessions Court’s decision.
The petitioner stated that the husband had secretly contracted third and fourth marriages and expelled her from the house with only three sets of clothing. According to the Family Court, the husband had verbally divorced her, limiting his obligation to pay expenses only during the ‘iddat’ period. However, the petitioner argued that a verbal divorce is legally invalid, and the marriage remains valid unless formal procedures are completed.
The High Court ruled that if the wife’s departure is legally justified, the husband must still provide monthly expenses until the divorce is effective. Records indicated that the husband had only disclosed his first marriage (to a wife who had passed away) but hid his second marriage. This concealment led to the dispute and the petitioner’s expulsion from the home.
The husband claimed that the wife falsified the dower amount in the marriage contract and left voluntarily, making her ineligible for expenses. The court rejected this, stating the husband failed to prove any legal justification for her departure and morally should have disclosed his second marriage at the time of contracting.
The court concluded that the petitioner had no misconduct or disobedience causing her to leave the home. She is entitled to PKR 15,000 monthly expenses from 2021 until the legal dissolution of the marriage, with a 10% annual increase.
The ruling emphasized that dower is typically paid upon the end of marriage, but if the husband contracts another marriage without the first wife’s consent, he is legally obliged to immediately pay her dower.
