November 19, 2025
By Kaleem Ullah
LAHORE
A ruling by the Supreme Court stresses that the state must ensure every Pakistani woman gets her share in inheritance while calling for a mechanism to assist them in securing this “divinely bestowed” right. The decision came in a seven page document written by Justice Athar Minallah – before he stepped down as judge. It was based on a a case heard by him and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan on August 29. The verdict was authored before the resignation of Justice Minallah as a judge on November 13.
In 2002, when Shahida Bibi’s father had passed away, the issue of succession surfaced in the family.
She later told in court that as a legal heir, she had repeatedly demanded her share, but her brother Abrar Hussain, refused to give it. She then approached the court and filed a complaint in March 2015 saying that she had repeatedly demanded her share, as well as her two other siblings later on, but Hussain still refused to give it.
In its verdict, the SC has dismissed the appeal filed by Hussain, against a March 3 2023 order of the Sindh High Court (SHC). The high court had rejected his plea challenging a 2021 order that had also refused his appeal against a 2019 trial court decision.
However, her brother then challenged the decision in the Supreme Court, which has now upheld the trial court’s ruling.
In her 2015 complaint, Shahida alleged that Hussain “was in illegal possession of the property and had rented out a portion of it without the consent of the other legal heirs, while retaining the rent without distributing it according to their respective shares”, the judgment recalled.
It noted that the remaining siblings supported the assertion made by Shahida and consented to her suit.
On the other hand, Hussain contested the suit claiming that the “predecessor-in-interest had gifted the property to him during his lifetime out of love and affection and that possession had been handed over to him”.
According to the court order, the respondent Shahida alleged that her brother was in illegal possession of the property and had rented out a portion of it without the consent of the other legal heirs, while keeping the rent to himself instead of distributing it according to their respective shares. Her brother, however, claimed that their father had gifted the property to him during his lifetime out of love and affection, and that possession had been handed over to him. In support of this claim, he relied on an alleged iqrar nama and a document purported to be a certificate of possession issued by the Nazim of the concerned union council.
But the court noted that he failed to produce the attesting witnesses or provide trustworthy and confidence-inspiring evidence to establish the authenticity of these documents. “The trial court had rightly observed that the iqrar nama (affidavit) lacked essential particulars of witnesses, such as their addresses and CNIC numbers, rendering it “dubious and unreliable.” Similarly, the alleged certificate of possession said to be issued by the Nazim also remained unproven”. The order state.
Referring to a recent judgment of the Shariat Court based on Quranic injunctions, the traditions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), and the principles of Sharia, the court declared that the right of inheritance vested in every legal heir—male or female—was a divine right that could not be curtailed, directly or indirectly. It stated that depriving legal heirs, particularly women, of their inheritance is a social evil and contrary to public policy.
The court held that each sibling is entitled to their respective share in accordance with Mohammadan Law. It further directed that the property be partitioned, and if it is not capable of division by metes and bounds, it shall be sold and distributed among the heirs according to their shares. The brother was also ordered to pay mesne profits to the other legal heirs from the rent he had received, at the rate of Rs. 25,000 per month for a period of three years.
Advocate Mian Liaqat Ali, a Supreme Court lawyer with the Asma Jahangir Legal Aid Cell who handles such cases, told Voicepk that, “It has been observed in inheritance cases that male heirs often get the assets transferred in their names either during their parents’ lifetime or through forged documents after their death. Sometimes male heirs take advantage of the tense situation following a parent’s death and emotionally pressure their female siblings into surrendering possession of the assets.”
Ali added, “Many instances of disinheritance go unnoticed by the legal system because a large number of women do not bring their cases to court out of fear of losing the support of their ancestral family for the rest of their lives, especially during difficult times.”
The data supports his views. A survey conducted by the Punjab Bureau of Statistics in 2017-18 shows that only 8.8 percent women living in the province — and aged between 15 and 64 — have received a share from their deceased fathers’ assets. The proportion of women having received a share from their deceased husbands’ property is slightly higher — 21.1 percent.