HC: Family courts can award compensation if husband withholds dower

Justice Md Abdur Rahman made the observations while dismissing a civil revision petition filed by a husband challenging a family court judgment concerning dower and maintenance.

The ruling was delivered on September 3 in the civil revision case of Yakub Ali vs Sanjida Nasrin. The full 32-page judgment was published on the Supreme Court website on Tuesday, October 6.

According to the judgment, where a husband has the financial capacity to pay the dower but deliberately fails to do so, compelling the wife to initiate legal proceedings for recovery, the family court may exercise its discretion to award compensation to the wife.

The High Court further observed that a wife’s right to dower cannot be undermined by describing the amount as deferred unless she has consented to such an arrangement.

The ruling reinforces the principle that dower agreed upon in a Muslim marriage is a legally enforceable financial obligation of the husband.

Lawyer Md Nazer Uddin represented the petitioner. Lawyers Ishrat Hasan and Tanzila Rahman Jui, assisted by lawyer Iffat Hasan Shammi, represented the respondent.