CASE TITLE AMBREEN AKRAM vs ASAD ULLAH KHAN Relevant sections — 2026 SCMR 1 SUPREME-COURT

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CASE TITLE AMBREEN AKRAM VS ASAD ULLAH KHAN Relevant sections... S.5, Sched.---Muslim Family Laws Ordinance (VIII of 1961), Ss.5 & 9---Constitution of Pakistan, Arts.14, 25 & 35---Accrual of a wife's right to maintenance immediately upon solemnization of a valid marriage regardless of its consummation---Husband's obligation to pay maintenance---Exception stated---Husband to prove that wife repudiated the marital relationship Full case summary... The husband may be excused from paying maintenance only in very limited circumstances where he can prove, through clear and cogent evidence, that the wife has wholly and unjustifiably repudiated the marital relationship, including emotional, residential, and relational aspects---The burden of proof lies squarely on the husband---Absent such proof, the obligation to provide maintenance persists---A refusal to cohabit arising from abuse, neglect, coercive control, behaviour or absence of appropriate living arrangements does not amount to nush?z or unjustifiable repudiation of the marital relationship by the wife---Where the husband fails to effect rukhsati, does not provide aresidence, withholds the agreed dower, or fails to facilitate travel documentation (e.g., a visa), the wife's non-cohabitation cannot be construed as voluntary withdrawal from marital relationship---In such cases, wife's entitlement to maintenance remains intact---Conditioning a wife's entitlement to maintenance on proof of consummation creates an untenable and constitutionally suspect standard---It forces women to disclose intimate and deeply private aspects of their married life in public judicial proceedings, contrary to their constitutional right to dignity and privacy under Article 14 of the Constitution---Denying maintenance under these circumstance weaponizes patriarchal customs and undermines the ethical foundations of Islamic law---This exception, therefore, must be narrowly construed and reformulated through the lens of Maq?sid al-Shar??ah, constitutional guarantees of equality, dignity, and social justice under Articles 14, 25 and 35 of the Constitution, and progressive jurisprudence---The above lens provides that unreasonable and unjustified denial or withdrawal of the wife from amarital relationship is the only exception to grant of maintenance---A wife's right to maintenance is neither contingent upon consummation or rukhsati, nor subject to the discretion of the husband.

CASE TITLE AMBREEN AKRAM vs ASAD ULLAH KHAN Relevant sections — 2026 SCMR 1 SUPREME-COURT

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