Father is bound to pay reasonable maintenance allowance as well as marriage expenses of his daughter.
The word „maintenance‟ is derived from Arabic word „Nafaq’ which means „to spend‟ and in literal sense, the word „nafaqah’ means what a person spends on his family. It is an inclusive explanation of the concept, not exhaustive and is only indicative in nature. Other liabilities are also included within the sweep of the concept of maintenance i.e. medical expenses, education expenses etc., can also go into and constitute the concept of maintenance. The right of maintenance does not limit itself only to food, raiment and lodging but also entails all the other necessary expenses for the mental and physical wellbeing of the recipient. As per Para 370(1) of the Muhammadan Law, a father is bound to maintain his daughter till she gets married.
As per Section 9 (1-A) of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 [inserted through the Punjab Muslim Family Laws (Amendment) Act, 2015], if a father fails to maintain his child, legal remedy is provided to the mother/grandmother of the child in term of raising the said grievance before the Chairman.
The maintenance paid by a father to his child is not a courtesy rather a religious, legal, moral and social duty of a father which cannot be put aside on frail grounds. Article 35 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 provides protection to the mother and child.
The responsibility of the Muslim father is to act as guardian of his unmarried daughter. Even when a woman has attained puberty/majority she needs the help and assistance of her father to formally enter matrimony. The father must function as guardian on her behalf in such marriage to enable his daughter into the contract of marriage. This paramount responsibility of the father as guardian at the time of marriage of his daughter must necessarily bring with it the corresponding obligation to ensure that all necessary expenses in connection with the marriage are met by him. Father has the indisputable obligation to maintain his unmarried daughter and he has the obligation to ensure that the unmarried daughter under his charge is given away in marriage properly, as such the legal obligation to meet the reasonable marriage expenses of his daughter, as part of his obligation to pay maintenance to her. The responsibility of arranging marriage of a daughter undoubtedly not only requires emotional stress but also fall heavily on guardian‟s pocket. Admittedly, a father is bound to maintain his daughter till her marriage but at eve of her marriage, how the burden of „maintenance‟/monetary obligation can be shifted to a mother, who does not figure anywhere in the compulsion to provide „maintenance‟ to his children. This will not only financially burden the person (a mother) to bear the marriage expenses of her daughter but also will be against the legal norms.
Family40877/21 Muhammad Riaz Ahmad Vs Shaheen Akhtar etc Mr. Justice Ch. Muhammad Iqbal10-11-2022 2022 LHC 7788
0 comments:
Post a Comment