LAHORE, Sept 26: The Lahore High Court on Friday ruled that any undertaking given by the parents regarding their minor children’s marriages solemnized without their consent was illegal and had no legal binding.

Justice Fakarun Nisa Khokhar made this observation while rejecting the petition of a person seeking the enforcement of an agreement made by the father of his divorced wife.

The 17-year-old Shahida Perveen, a resident of Jhang, was married to Tasawar Abbas without her consent as she was a minor at the time of her marriage. Her father had given an undertaking to the father of the groom that he would pay him Rs100,000 if he failed to give his daughter’s hand to Tasawar.

On attaining the age of puberty, Shahida moved the family court seeking Khula (dissolution of marriage on the demand of the wife on the condition that she has to return all the benefits she has drawn from her husband after marriage).

Shahida contended that at the time of marriage she was a minor and her consent was not obtained. After attaining the age of majority she had found it impossible to live with her 20-year-old husband who had threatened her that he would throw acid on her face if she broke the marriage.

The family court had decreed the suit in favour of the petitioner.

Feeling aggrieved of the family court’s judgment, Tasawar moved the high court and also sought the enforcement of the undertaking given in writing by his former wife’s father. He submitted that if the family court’s judgment was upheld by the LHC, it should consider the undertaking given by the father of his former wife and direct her family to pay Rs100,000 to him as he had maintained her after the marriage.

“Such undertaking has no legal binding and cannot be considered in Khula cases which relates to the benefits derived by the wife only. Moreover, the marriage was solemnized during her minority and without her consent. In Islam, such stipulations are altogether illegal since marriage contract is a civil contract between two major persons and no person can place any condition relating to his minor child’s marriage bond,” the court observed while upholding the family court’s judgment.

Mandi Nazim: The district Nazim of Mandi Bahaudin, Nazar Muhammad Gondal, on Friday moved the Lahore High Court against a notification of the Punjab Local Election Authority (PLEA) restraining him from using his powers.

The court issued notice to the PLEA for Oct 27 after hearing preliminary arguments of the counsel for petitioner.

Mr Gondal had been restored to his office following an LHC ruling that all PLEA notifications were illegal prior to Sept 18, when the recall motion rules empowering the authority to restrain a Nazim from using his powers were published in the official gazette.

The authority had issued the notification debarring Mr Gondal from using his powers on Sept 2.

However, the court made it clear that the PLEA could use these powers in a legal manner after Sept 18.

The PLEA issued a fresh notification against Mr Gondal on Sept 23.