Men deciding terms of Nikah put brides at a disadvantage: SC

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has ruled that it is “accepted as a cultural and social norm” for male family members to decide the terms of marriage on behalf of the bride, but it is not allowed in the post-marriage stages. It gets damaged.

The order, issued on Tuesday, was delivered by a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Athar Minullah in the matter of determining the bride’s right to the plot mentioned in the marriage certificate.

In 2022, the Lahore High Court (LHC) ruled in favor of a woman, Huma Saeed, who had married Muhammad Yusuf in May 2014.

The petitioner pleaded that column 17 was headed ‘Special Conditions’, “to distinguish it from the other columns which are specifically provided for the purposes of fixing the conditions of the seal”.

In his written statement before the Supreme Court, Mr. Yusuf pleaded that the plot was for construction of a house, and his wife was to live in it as long as their marriage lasted.

“A plain reading of the description of the property, as mentioned in column 17, does not indicate or support such a position,” the 10-page judgment authored by Justice Minullah said.

He added that the question before the bench was how to interpret the terms and conditions of the marriage deed in case of any doubt and ambiguity.