Mst. RAZIA BEGUM vs PUBLIC AT LARGE S — 2025 PLD 40 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

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Mst. RAZIA BEGUM VS PUBLIC AT LARGE S. 72---Life Insurance Policy, proceeds of---Tarka---Scope---Nominee assigned by the deceased---Scope and effect---Deceased in his lifetime purchased an insurance policy wherein he nominated his wife as his nominee---Mother of the deceased filed an application for issuance of succession certificate, which was concurrently declined---Claim of the petitioner (being mother of the deceased) was that she was entitled to inherit 1/6th share of the insurance policy amount, whereas, respondent (wife/widow) denied her right on the ground that being nominee she was solely entitled to receive the whole insurance policy amount---Deceased left behind mother (petitioner), widow (respondent/ nominee), a daughter and two sons (respondents)---Courts below non-suited the petitioner on the ground that the amount of the Insurance Policy did not fall within the ambit of "Tarka", which was not liable to be inherited by the legal heirs and only the nominee was entitled to receive the amount of said Life Insurance Policy---Whether the amount of Life Insurance Policy falls within the ambit of "Tarka" and is liable to be distributed amongst the legal heirs of the deceased propositus or not?---Held, that the status of the amount of Life Insurance Policy was not described in the insurance documents---However, S. 72 of the Insurance Ordinance, 2000, provides that the policy holder, when effecting the policy or at any time before the policy matures for payment, may nominate a person or persons as nominee to whom the money secured by the policy shall be paid in the event of the death of the insured person---Section 72 of the Ordinance, 2000, authorizes and empowers the policy holder to nominate a person or persons to whom the money secured by the policy shall be paid in the event of his death, but this provision of law does not exclude the legal heirs to inherit the assets, including the policy proceeds of the deceased according to the principle of Muhammadan Law, because there is a Constitutional guarantee enunciated in the Constitution of Pakistan that no law can be made which is contrary to the Injunctions of Quran and Sunnah---It is a Quranic injunction that the legal heirs of a Muslim deceased will inherit their assets according to the principle of Muhammadan Law, therefore, the nominee is only supposed to collect the policy proceeds and to disburse the same among the legal heirs, and further the nominee in any case shall not exclude or deprive the legal heirs of the fruits of the policy---Thus, the Insurance Policy proceeds fall within the definition of "Tarka" of the policy holder after his death---Both the Courts below had erred in law while dismissing the succession petition of the petitioner and had failed to properly appreciate the question involved in the lis as the present case related to Life Insurance Policy and the nominee was appointed by the nominator just to fulfill the legal requirement of S. 72 of the Insurance Ordinance, 2000---High Court set-aside the impugned judgments of the Courts below, and the petitioner, being mother of the deceased, was held entitled to receive her due share out of the policy proceeds---Revision petition, filed by mother of deceased was allowed accordingly.

Mst. RAZIA BEGUM vs PUBLIC AT LARGE S — 2025 PLD 40 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

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