Denmohor payable as soon as wife demands it: High Court

The High Court has ruled that denmohor (dower), the amount a Muslim husband agrees to pay his wife under the marriage contract, becomes immediately payable when the wife demands it, and a husband cannot defer the payment without her consent.

The court also said a Family Court may order compensation if a husband has the financial means to pay denmohor but deliberately withholds it, forcing his wife to seek legal remedy.

Justice Md Abdur Rahman made the observations while dismissing a civil revision petition filed by a husband challenging a Family Court judgment on denmohor and maintenance.

The ruling came in Yakub Ali vs Sanjida Nasrin on September 3. The 32-page full judgment was published on the Supreme Court website on Tuesday.

The High Court said Muslim family law does not allow a husband to impose “deferred denmohor” in a Nikahnama without his wife’s consent. Once she demands the money, it becomes immediately payable.

Yakub married Sanjida on December 19, 2014, with denmohor fixed at 22 lakh taka. The couple later had a daughter.

Following marital disputes, Sanjida left the matrimonial home in 2017 and Yakub subsequently divorced her. She filed a case with the Chattogram Family Court in 2019 seeking unpaid denmohor, maintenance for the iddat period and maintenance for their daughter.

In May 2022, the Family Court ordered Yakub to pay 20.40 lakh taka within 60 days, including 18 lakh taka in outstanding denmohor, 30,000 taka in iddat maintenance and 2.10 lakh taka in arrears for their daughter.

It also ordered monthly maintenance of 7,000 taka for the daughter until her marriage, increasing by 10% annually.

Yakub's appeal was dismissed by the District Judge's Court, prompting him to move the High Court.

His lawyer told the court that Yakub had already paid 5.65 lakh taka and sought permission to clear the remainder in instalments, citing business losses.

Lawyer Ishrat Hasan, representing Sanjida, opposed the request, saying Yakub had the financial capacity to pay but was withholding the legal entitlements of his former wife and daughter.

The High Court said a court cannot waive or reduce a woman's denmohor. A wife may voluntarily waive all or part of it, but only through her free and informed consent. A waiver obtained through coercion, undue influence or deception is invalid.

The court also upheld the maintenance order, saying the Family Court had properly considered inflation, housing costs and the expenses of a school-going child.

Finding no legal or jurisdictional error in the lower court's decision, the High Court dismissed Yakub's petition.