Supreme Court Clarifies Rules Regarding Khula And Consent

ISLAMBAD: (Web Desk) – Supreme Court of Pakistan has ruled that Khula cannot be granted without the explicit consent of the wife, issuing a significant judgment on family disputes and women’s legal rights.

The 12-page verdict, authored by Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, stated that a court cannot legally convert a case based on allegations of cruelty into Khula proceedings without the wife’s clear and voluntary agreement.

According to the judgment, if a woman files a case citing cruelty or domestic abuse, changing the nature of the case to Khula could affect her financial rights, including claims related to maintenance and settlement.

The court observed that family courts must give the wife a choice either to continue pursuing allegations of cruelty or to proceed with Khula under applicable legal conditions.

The ruling further clarified that courts cannot forcibly restore a marriage once the relationship has effectively broken down between the parties.

The Supreme Court also broadened the interpretation of domestic violence, stating that it includes physical abuse, mental torture, humiliation, emotional neglect, coercion, and severe psychological distress.

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The judgment emphasized that emotional suffering and mental cruelty should also be treated as valid forms of abuse in family disputes.

The court directed family courts not to apply criminal standards of evidence in civil family matters, noting that domestic disputes should be decided based on circumstances, conduct, and probabilities rather than strict criminal proof requirements.

It added that victims in family disputes should not be expected to provide impossible forms of evidence such as eyewitnesses or police FIRs in order to establish abuse.

In the case under review, the marriage took place on September 19, 2016, while the separation petition was filed less than a month later on October 8, 2016.

The court observed that cruelty can occur even within a short duration of marriage, depending on the facts and circumstances of each individual case.

Although the court held that the wife failed to sufficiently prove cruelty in this particular matter, it noted that she consistently maintained her desire for separation.

As a result, the Supreme Court partially set aside the divorce ruling and remanded the matter back to the family court to determine the wife’s final position and settle financial rights accordingly.

The family court has been instructed to record the wife’s final statement and conclude proceedings within 30 days.

The case was filed by Selab Akhtar against her husband Quwat Khan.