Islamabad: The Supreme Court has ruled that a family court cannot grant Khula or convert a woman’s dissolution-of-marriage suit into Khula without her clear and voluntary consent, especially where her financial rights are at stake.
In a 12-page judgment, the apex court held that when a wife approaches the court seeking dissolution of marriage on grounds such as cruelty, the court should not ordinarily treat the case as Khula unless the woman clearly chooses that route. The ruling was authored by Justice Shahid Bilal as part of a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi.
The court observed that Khula is based on a wife’s free election. It cannot be imposed merely because she says she is unwilling to live with her husband. That distinction matters because Khula may affect a woman’s financial claims, including dower, while dissolution under other legal grounds can allow her to pursue those rights.
The case before the court involved a wife who had sought dissolution of marriage on the ground of cruelty, along with recovery of 30 tolas of gold as dower or its market value, and maintenance allowance. The Supreme Court said Khula should not ordinarily be granted without the wife’s consent or clear choice where valuable financial rights are involved.
The judgment reinforces an earlier legal position that courts cannot, on their own, convert a wife’s claim under the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939 into Khula in the absence of a clear and unequivocal statement from her. A previous Supreme Court ruling had also said Khula is a remedy grounded in the wife’s voluntary and express consent.
Legal experts say the ruling is significant because many women file cases seeking dissolution of marriage on specific legal grounds such as cruelty, non-maintenance, desertion or a husband’s second marriage without lawful permission. If such cases are converted into Khula without consent, women may be forced to surrender dower or other financial claims they were legally entitled to pursue.
The court’s decision draws a clear line between Khula and dissolution of marriage. Khula is a wife-initiated form of separation based on her decision to end the marriage, while statutory dissolution is based on legally recognised grounds. Mixing the two, the judgment suggests, can unfairly weaken a woman’s case.
The ruling is expected to guide family courts across Pakistan in future matrimonial disputes. It tells judges to examine the wife’s pleaded grounds instead of taking the easier route of granting Khula without her express approval.
For women seeking relief from abusive or broken marriages, the decision may prove important. It protects their right to choose the legal remedy they want — and, just as importantly, protects them from losing financial rights without consent.
