ISLAMABAD: In a landmark ruling, the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) on Wednesday declared all or any custom, by virtue of which any female member of a family is being or has been denied or deprived of her right of inheritance, have no legal force whatsoever.

The 21-page judgement, authored by Justice Dr Syed Muhammad Anwar of the four-member bench that also comprised Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman, Justice Khadim Hussain M. Sheikh and Justice Ameer Mohammad Khan, came on a petition moved against the custom of ‘Chaddar’ or ‘Parchi’ — prevalent in parts of Bannu district — that either deprived women of inheritance right granted by the Holy Quran and Sunnah, or forced them to accept a share of less value than their inheritance through jirgas.

The Shariat Court declared the practice un-Islamic and illegal, having no legal force, subject such criminal actions to punishment.

In her petition, Syeda Fouzia Jalaal Shah not only highlighted the practices prevailing in Bannu, but also sought relief for her mother, Syeda Iftikhar Bibi, who was allegedly deprived of a share in her father’s and husband’s inheritances due to the local custom.

Govt asked to initiate criminal cases against perpetrators of such actions under Section 498-A of penal code

The FSC, however, partially accepted the plea whereby the petitioner was seeking relief to declare the local custom as un-Islamic. As such, actions by the relevant authorities of the state falls within the scope of “Amr bil Maroof Wa Nahi Anil Munkar,” which is an important duty of the State under the Act X of 1991 (Enforcement of Shari’ah Act, 1991).

The petitioner also relied upon Verses 7, 11, 12 and 14 of Surah Nisa, wherein the issue of inheritance of women has been discussed and Muslims were directed to give the due share of inheritance to every eligible legal heir of a deceased as prescribed in these verses. The judgement explained that it was clear from the statistics available and reports submitted by different parties that such criminal practice, whereby women were deprived of their right of inheritance was quite common.

In this regard, generally a core illegal practice commonly known as ‘Haq Bakhshwai’, or ‘Haq Bakhshwana’, was in vogue in the country in different forms, whereby the perpetrators or usurpers try to give a kind of legal cover to their illegal and criminal actions either forcibly or by emotionally blackmailing female family members to relinquish their right of inheritance in favour of male members.

As most of the respondent departments have also acknowledged the need of the use of the penal law under PPC as amended, to eradicate this social evil from society, the FSC said the relevant provincial departments, which were responsible for rectifying this social evil and protecting the property rights of women granted to them by the Holy Quran and Sunnah, may also initiate criminal case against the perpetrator of the crime of serious and grave cases under Section 498-A of PPC, which was introduced in the Pakistan Penal Code vide the Criminal Law (Third Ame­ndment) Act, 2011, as it was the object and reason of this amendment in the PPC.

In this regard they may also publicise their collective actions and decisions taken against the perpetrators to promote Islamic virtues on the principle of Amr-bil-Maroof, in line with Section 13 of the Act X of 1991 (Enforcement of Shari’ah Act, 1991), which is an important substantial law of the state.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2025