ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has issued a significant ruling regarding khula (divorce initiated by a wife) and domestic violence, declaring that courts cannot grant khula without the woman’s consent.
While overturning earlier decisions of the Peshawar High Court and a family court, the 17-page judgement authored by Justice Ayesha Malik stated that psychological distress in a marriage is as serious as physical abuse, and that a husband’s second marriage without his wife’s consent can serve as valid grounds for dissolution of marriage.
The verdict further observed that courts must use careful language when addressing cases involving women.
It noted that while Parliament has not strictly defined “cruelty” in law, it has provided illustrative examples to clarify its scope and nature.
The court wrote that these examples are not exhaustive but meant to guide interpretation, allowing courts to identify various forms of cruelty and ensure justice where such conduct is proven.
The ruling clarified that cruelty is not limited to physical harm alone — any behaviour that inflicts mental or emotional suffering and makes it impossible for a woman to live in her home with dignity and security also constitutes cruelty.
Justice Ayesha Malik noted that courts have broadened the definition of cruelty to include mental torture, verbal abuse, and false accusations. Physical injury, she said, is not a necessary condition; any conduct that causes distress, despair, or loss of self-confidence can amount to cruelty.
The Supreme Court further observed that if the effects of such conduct are severe and make marital life intolerable, it qualifies as cruelty.
The judgment also cited the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. The UN Human Rights Committee, it added, has applied these principles to cases of domestic violence to ensure protection and justice for victims.
Allowing the woman’s appeal, the Supreme Court annulled the rulings and decrees of the family and appellate courts as well as the Peshawar High Court’s order concerning khula, mehr (dower), and maintenance.
The court ruled that since the marriage was dissolved on the basis of the husband’s second marriage, the woman would not be required to return her mehr. The verdict was issued on an appeal against the Peshawar High Court’s May 2024 decision that had dismissed the petitioner’s plea.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that the family and additional judges in Peshawar had ignored the woman’s statements and arguments.
The Supreme Court noted that khula had been granted without her consent and that she was deprived of her mehr.
It also questioned how the family court had handled the case and evaluated evidence, observing that it wrongly concluded the mehr was unpayable and therefore waived in exchange for the khula.