PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has ruled that besides physical violence against women by their husbands, mental, moral and psychological torture also amounted to cruelty in divorce cases.

In detailed verdict on the petition of a female cancer patient against dissolution of her marriage, Justice Shahid Khan of a single-member bench set aside the judgement of an appellate court in North Waziristan tribal district, which had ordered the termination of the couple’s marriage on the basis of khula and not cruelty, and ordered the restoration of her dower to the tune of Rs400,000.

The court also rejected the petition of the woman’s ex-husband, Rifatullah, who requested it to declare illegal the decision of the trial court (family court) and the appellate court for him to pay Rs500,000 for her treatment and return the Rs400,000 dower, which, he claimed, was given away after the nikkah was solemnised.

It observed that the evidence furnished during the trial was absolutely silent about whether the man ever accompanied his ex-wife during her clinical investigation or diagnosis by the medical consultant.

Orders man to pay dower, other expenses to ex-wife, who is cancer patient

The court added that the man was not able to falsify the version of his wife to the effect that not only on diagnoses of that health problem, his attitude towards her was also not harmonious, cordial and friendly right from the wedding night till date.

“It is next to impossible and rather unbelievable of a life partner to have an unbecoming, improper and indecent attitude with wife knowing she is suffering from an incurable disease and has a thin chance of survival.

“Due love and affection is the inherent right of the wife, what to say of not to tender the same, the record speaks loud and clear of the unbecoming attitude of the husband,” it observed.

The bench added that the appellate court had fallen in error not to affirm and declare the same as cruelty on part of the husband.

It ruled that the peculiar facts and circumstances of the event coupled with the evidence so scrutinised had driven the court to the conclusion that the impugned judgment of the appellate court to dissolve the marriage of the spouses on the ground of khula was not tangible in view of the evidence on the record, whereas the conclusion of the trial court to dissolve the marriage tie on the ground of cruelty was well found.

The bench also modified the judgement of the appellate court declaring the wife entitled for maintenance at the rate of Rs10,000 per month only for the iddat period, and that she was entitled to the past maintenance from the date of institution of her suit until the iddat period.

It declared that the woman was entitled to receive Rs341,200 in respect of her dowry articles.

Initially, the woman had filed a lawsuit for the dissolution of her marriage on basis of cruelty, recovery of her dower, payment of past maintenance until her iddat period at the rate of Rs10,000 per month for 22 months, recovery of Rs1.35 million as medical expenses, and payment of her dowry articles.

Her marriage was solemnsied in May 2018. She claimed that initially, the matrimonial relation was cordial but soon it became strained due to the harsh and insulting attitude of her husband towards her.

She added that after four months of her marriage, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and even then, she was tortured physically, mentally and psychologically.

The woman claimed that she was ousted from his house and had to return to her parents and that her father ensured her cancer treatment by spending more than Rs1.39 million.

However, her ex-husband denied the claims.

The trial court accepted the woman’s plea for the recovery of the dower amount, payment of past maintenance from June 2018 to the completion of her iddat period, and recovery of Rs500,000 on account of medical expenses.

The man filed an appeal against those orders before the district judge of North Waziristan, which partially accepted it and dissolved the marriage on the basis of khula and not cruelty.

However, both the woman and her ex-husband appealed the verdict in the high court.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2023