The Supreme Court of Pakistan passed a ruling allowing women to appeal for divorce on account of instances of cruelty from husband or his family. The court ruled, “The cruelty alleged may be mental or physical, premeditated or unpremeditated, but lack of intent does not make any distinction.”
The court passed this new ruling under a written statement passed on Thursday, while re-evaluating previous judgements made by the family court and the Peshawar High Court (PHC) in a marriage dissolution case filed by Tayyaba Ambreen against her husband Shafaqat Ali Kayani. The SC reversed PHC’s judgement and reinstated family court’s ruling. The family court had dissolved the conjugal relationship between the husband and wife on grounds of husband cruelty.
According to the judgement posted on the court’s official website, “The dissolution of marriage on the ground of cruelty, the Court must adjudge the intensity and ruthlessness of the acts and examine whether the conduct complained of is not merely a trivial issue which may happen in day-to-day married life, but is of such a nature which no reasonable person can endure. While claiming conjugal rights by a husband in response to the suit for dissolution of marriage, dower, dowry and maintenance, it is also an onerous responsibility of the Court to see whether he is sincerely fulfilling his obligations towards his wife.”
