The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that an agreement made at the time of marriage, in addition to the marriage certificate, is legally valid and binding on the husband.
Justice Sajid Mahmood Sethi issued an 11-page written decision on the petition of Muhammad Khan, upholding the subordinate court’s ruling and ordering the petitioner to give his wife a five-marla house as promised in a separate agreement.
The court said the husband is bound to fulfill not only the dower (haq mehar) mentioned in the marriage certificate but also other promises made to the wife at the time of marriage. The court ruled that items or commitments mentioned in a separate marriage agreement are also enforceable.
It declared the trial court’s decision to give the five-marla house to the woman correct and dismissed the husband’s request to set aside that ruling. According to the written judegment, the woman had filed a claim for recovery of haq mehar, a five-marla house and iddah expenses. The woman maintained that her husband had promised to give her a five-marla house through a separate agreement made on the day of marriage.
The husband, however, argued before the court that the agreement was fake and had been prepared later.