PESHAWAR, June 28: A local court on Tuesday reserved its judgment in an appeal filed by a person requesting it to absolve him of payment of dower and maintenance money to his ex-wife as he claimed she was his foster sister.

The court of additional district and sessions judge, Shahid Khan, fixed July 12 for pronouncing the verdict.

The appellant, Sheraz Ali, has claimed that ten years after his marriage with his cousin, Azra Bibi, he came to know that she was his foster sister. He added that as his nikkah with Ms Azra stood void, therefore the dower and maintenance should also be declared void.

The family judge, Miss Sadaf Gul Durrani, had issued a decree in favour of Ms Azra last year whereby she had dissolved her marriage on ground of cruelty and also ordered payment of dower as well as maintenance to the woman.

Aggrieved with that order Sheraz Ali filed the instant appeal, requesting that the judgment of the family court should be set aside.

The appellant’s counsel contended that the appellant was informed by his mother-in-law, Ms Zakia, who happened to be his maternal aunt, that his wife was his foster sister.

He contended that after that disclosure he had visited various religious scholars and obtained decrees from them in the light of which they could not live together.

Ms Zakia was summoned by the court during last hearing and she had denied that she had ever told the appellant that Azra was his foster sister.

Initially, the woman, Ms Azra, had filed a suit for the dissolution of marriage and recovery of dower and maintenance.

They got married on Dec 27, 1993, and were having four children. Ms Azra claimed that her husband wanted to marry another woman and as she was not permitting him he used to severely beat her and finally she was asked to leave his residence.

She claimed that she lived for more than a year at her parents’ home and during that period her husband contracted a second marriage.

The man claimed that after 10 years of their marriage he came to know that his wife was his foster sister. He added that he went to a famous seminary in Akora Khattak and a scholar gave him a decree that a foster brother and sister could not marry and their nikkah stood void.

Sheraz alleged that following that his wife left him. He added that she had also participated in his second marriage.

The family court had turned down his plea. It posed a query that how could they live together for 10 long years without getting to know the fact.

The court had allowed the suit of Ms Azra on Sep 21, 2004, and ordered dissolution of their marriage on ground of cruelty. The judge also ordered that Sheraz pay dower amount of Rs50,000, return gold ornaments of three tolas and a 5-marla house, pay maintenance of Rs1000 per month to the woman and Rs2000 as maintenance of the four children residing with their mother.