LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has ruled that a father cannot escape his continuing legal, moral and religious obligation to maintain his minor child through a private settlement, holding that a minor’s right to maintenance cannot be permanently waived or extinguished.

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani dismissed a petition filed by Akhtar Hussain Awan against concurrent judgements of family and appellate courts. Those earlier judgements allowed a maintenance claim filed by a minor, Naseer Akhtar Awan, through his mother, Sadia Awan.

The petitioner argued that an earlier maintenance suit was settled through a 2007 compromise, under which Rs60,000 was paid and parties agreed not to raise future claims.

He contended a subsequent 2019 suit was barred by limitation and the principles of res judicata, a legal doctrine preventing a matter from being judged twice.

Justice Kayani cites Islamic teachings to invalidate any private contracts waiving child maintenance

Rejecting the contention, Justice Kayani ruled that agreements preventing minors from enforcing future maintenance rights are void.

He noted that while accrued claims can be settled, a minor’s ongoing right to maintenance cannot be waived during dependency.

The judge ruled that the maintenance of a minor child constitutes a recurring cause of action and is not barred by res judicata.

The court maintained that providing food, clothing, shelter, education, healthcare and other necessities is a father’s ongoing responsibility.

“Under the law, every father is under a legal as well as moral obligation to maintain his wife and minor children in all respects,” Justice Kayani observed in the ruling.

“Such obligation is neither optional nor contingent upon the will of the father, rather it is a continuing responsibility imposed by law as well as by the injunctions of Islam.”

Citing the Holy Quran and traditions of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), he said that a father cannot avoid this divine duty through private deals harmful to a minor’s welfare.

Additionally, the judge held that Article 120 of the Limitation Act, 1908, does not apply to claims for past maintenance of a minor child or a wife during an existing marriage.

Justice Kayani dismissed the petition and ordered the judgment be sent to the Law and Justice Commission and Ministry of Law to consider reforms in limitation laws for maintenance cases, aligning them with Islamic principles.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2026