Fouzia Barkat vs Additional District Judge Ss — 2026 YLR 760 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

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Fouzia Barkat VS Additional District Judge Ss.5, Sched., 9(2), 9(4) & 14(2)(c)---Constitution of Pakistan, Art.199---Suit for recovery of maintenance allowance, dower, dowry articles and dissolution of marriage---Appellate Court accepting application for additional evidence of respondent/husband and remanding the matter, challenge to---Repeated opportunities granted by Family Court to husband to adduce evidence---Consequence---Closure of right to produce evidence---Effect upon application for additional evidence at appellate stage---Scope---Brief facts of the matter were that the petitioner No.1 (wife) instituted a family suit seeking dissolution of marriage and allied reliefs including maintenance, dower/dowry-related claims; after recording evidence, the Family Court partly decreed the suit (including dissolution subject to surrender of part dower, maintenance for iddat, delivery expenses, alternate price of dowry articles, and maintenance for minor petitioner No.2);both sides filed appeals; the husband (respondent No.3) also moved an application to produce an "acknowledgment deed" as additional evidence regarding dowry articles, whereupon the Appellate Court dismissed the wife's appeal, allowed the husband's appeal and additional-evidence application, and remanded the matter for fresh decision; hence, the present constitutional petition was preferred---Held: Impugned appellate judgment revealed that the Appellate Court erred in setting aside the Trial Court's well-reasoned order closing the respondent's right of documentary evidence without recording any valid justification---Respondent's attempt to introduce the 'acknowledgment deed' belatedly raised serious doubts about its authenticity and bona fides---The said document was executed prior to recording of evidence, yet the respondent neither produced it during trial nor confronted the petitioner's witnesses with it---Respondent No.3 had multiple opportunities to produce documentary evidence but failed to do so, leading to the Family Court to close his right to do so---The application for additional evidence appeared to be an attempt to circumvent this order---The Appellate Court's acceptance of said application was erroneous in law---The appellate court also fell into error in entertaining the appeal filed by respondent No.3 against the maintenance decree, as Section 14(2)(c) of the Family Courts Act, 1964, expressly barred appeals against maintenance decrees not exceeding Rs.5,000/-, rendering the appellate court's findings on this issue void ab initio-- The respondent No.3, as a father, was indeed legally and morally obligated to maintain petitioner No.2/minor---The maintenance allowance granted by the Family Court was reasonable, and the decree regarding dowry articles was justified, given the admission of respondent No.3 having the dowry articles in his possession---The alternate amount of the dowry articles, along with delivery expenditure, was also correctly granted by the Family Court---Impugned judgment and decree of the Appellate Court was set aside and that of the Family Court was restored --- Present constitutional petition was allowed, in circumstances.

Fouzia Barkat vs Additional District Judge Ss — 2026 YLR 760 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

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