# Can a wife claim maintenance for the years he didn't pay? > Muhammad Aslam Chattha v. Shehnaz Akhtar Zahoor Ahmed and another, Supreme Court of Pakistan, PLD 2026 SC 308, decided 18 November 2025 - Topic: Family - Court: Supreme Court of Pakistan - Citation: PLD 2026 SC 308 - The myth: "A wife only gets maintenance from the day she files; the years before are lost." Verdict: Wrong. - Watch: https://failegal.site/media/can-wife-claim-past-maintenance-arrears-pakistan-pld-2026-sc-308 (video https://failegal.site/media/can-wife-claim-past-maintenance-arrears-pakistan-pld-2026-sc-308/reel.mp4, 1:17) - Published by FAI Legal on 2026-10-27 Yes. In November 2025 the Supreme Court held that unpaid maintenance is a debt the husband owes his wife: "The arrears of maintenance are, in essence, a debt owed by the husband (the appellant) to his wife (the respondent)." (PLD 2026 SC 308, para 10). Waiting before going to court does not cancel it: an argument that delay "would exempt the husband from liability for past maintenance lacks both reason and logic" (para 4). There is a time limit, and the Court counted it in her favour. A suit under Article 120 of the Limitation Act 1908 must be filed within six years of when the right to sue accrues, and because maintenance falls due every month, each unpaid month is a fresh claim (section 23; para 9). In this case the wife recovered maintenance from June 2004 in a suit filed in May 2017. ## Key points - A neglected wife can recover maintenance for past years, not only from the day she files (paras 4 and 10). - She must show that he neglected her for a period and did not pay, "without any fault on her part" (para 4). - Article 120 gives six years, counted from a clear refusal; unpaid maintenance is a continuing wrong, so a fresh claim arises every month (para 9). - Here the husband's refusal came within six years before the suit, so the suit was in time and the Family Court's decree from June 2004 stood (paras 3 and 9). - The Court followed Khurshid Begum (PLD 1972 SC 302) and Farah Naz (PLD 2006 SC 457), which apply Article 120 to past maintenance (para 8). ## Can a wife claim past maintenance in Pakistan? The short answer Yes. In Muhammad Aslam Chattha v. Shehnaz Akhtar Zahoor Ahmed (PLD 2026 SC 308), decided on 18 November 2025, the Supreme Court said that "any argument suggesting that past maintenance cannot be claimed, while only current maintenance is allowable, effectively imposes a condition on the contract that is not legally supported" (para 4), and that the arrears are "a debt owed by the husband" (para 10). So the years before she went to court are not lost. What matters is that she proves the neglect and files within the time the law allows, which the Court counted month by month. ## 2002 to 2017: thirteen years without maintenance The couple married on 14 July 2002. The wife said that from 2004 her husband had effectively abandoned her and gave her no financial support, and that shortly before she sued he insulted her and refused outright to pay. She filed in the Family Court on 11 May 2017, asking for Rs 50,000 a month from June 2004 (PLD 2026 SC 308, para 3). The Family Court found the neglect proved and decreed Rs 10,000 a month from June 2004, rising 15% a year, for as long as the marriage lasted. The first appellate court kept the amount but cut the period to run only from the day she filed the suit. The Islamabad High Court restored the Family Court's decree on 29 September 2020 (paras 1 and 3). ## What the Supreme Court decided in November 2025 A bench of Shahid Waheed, Musarrat Hilali and Naeem Akhter Afghan, JJ heard the husband's appeal. He no longer disputed the amount; he only argued that past maintenance should be capped at six years (para 3). The judgment, written by Shahid Waheed, J, dismissed his appeal, with no order as to costs (para 11). The Court held that a wife's cause of action arises "the moment her husband begins to neglect his duty to support her", that delay does not exempt him, and that "arrears in maintenance are considered an outstanding debt" (para 4). Since her suit was in time, "she is entitled to collect past maintenance for the period delineated in her plaint and substantiated by evidence" (para 10). ## The catch: six years, counted the right way A suit for past maintenance falls under Article 120 of the Limitation Act 1908: six years from when the right to sue accrues. The Court said that right is triggered by a clear and unequivocal threat to the wife's right, such as an outright refusal to pay (para 9). Maintenance is also a continuing wrong under section 23: "a cause of action arises anew with each passing month" (para 9). In this case the husband's refusal came within six years before the suit, so the claim back to 2004 was in time. The safe course is not to wait: count six years from his clear refusal. ## Wives: what to do Keep proof of the neglect: messages, witnesses, bank records and the date he refused to pay. In the Family Court, claim the past months as well as maintenance going forward, and give the period in your plaint, because the Court allowed past maintenance "for the period delineated in her plaint and substantiated by evidence" (para 10). The Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961 gives another route alongside the suit: if a husband fails to maintain his wife adequately, she can apply to the Chairman, whose Arbitration Council can issue a certificate of the amount, recoverable as arrears of land revenue (section 9). ## Husbands: waiting does not cancel the debt Unpaid maintenance does not disappear because years pass. The Court said the passing of six years does not absolve a husband of what he owes his wife, and treated the arrears as a debt (para 10). The duty has conditions: the wife must show neglect for a period "without any fault on her part" (para 4), and the amount is fixed on evidence and the husband's means. ## For law students and lawyers The Court traced the line from Sardar Muhammad v. Nasima Bibi (PLD 1966 (W.P.) Lahore 703), where a wife's delay or attempts to settle outside court did not strip her right from when the cause of action arose, through Muhammad Nawaz v. Khurshid Begum (PLD 1972 SC 302) and Farah Naz v. Judge Family Court, Sahiwal (PLD 2006 SC 457), which apply Article 120 (para 8). It added that limitation "merely prescribes a timeframe" and does not affect the existence of the claim, that where two readings are possible the one that upholds the claim is preferred, and that a party's failure to use an earlier cause of action does not stop it using a later one (para 9). ## The case at a glance - **Facts:** Married on 14 July 2002. From 2004 the husband gave no maintenance; shortly before the suit he refused outright. She sued on 11 May 2017. The Family Court decreed Rs 10,000 a month from June 2004 with a 15% yearly rise; the appellate court cut it to run from the date of the suit; the Islamabad High Court restored the Family Court's decree. - **The question:** How far back can a neglected wife claim maintenance, and is it capped at six years before the suit? - **What the Court held:** Past maintenance is recoverable as a debt; delay does not exempt the husband. The suit was within Article 120 because the refusal came within six years and the wrong continued month by month. Appeal dismissed (paras 4, 9 to 11). - **Why:** Maintenance is a contractual and Islamic-law duty from the marriage; arrears are a debt; limitation fixes only the time to sue, and maintenance is a continuing wrong under section 23 (paras 2 to 10). - **Limits:** It does not remove the time limit: count six years from a clear refusal. She must prove neglect without fault on her part, and the period must be pleaded and proved (paras 4, 9 and 10). ## In the Court’s words > "an argument asserting that delays in approaching the court would exempt the husband from liability for past maintenance lacks both reason and logic." (PLD 2026 SC 308, para 4) > "This means that a cause of action arises anew with each passing month" (PLD 2026 SC 308, para 9) ## The law it relies on - **Limitation Act, 1908, First Schedule, Article 120:** "Suit for which no period of limitation is provided elsewhere in this schedule." Six years, from "When the right to sue accrues." - **Limitation Act, 1908, Section 23:** "In the case of continuing breach of contract and in the case of a continuing wrong independent of contract, a fresh period of limitation begins to run at every moment of the time during which the breach or the wrong, as the case may be, continues." - **Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961, Section 9:** If a husband fails to maintain his wife adequately, she may apply to the Chairman; the Arbitration Council may issue a certificate of the amount, recoverable as arrears of land revenue. ## What this does not mean - It does not mean there is no time limit. Article 120 still applies: count six years from his clear refusal (para 9). - It does not mean every claim back to the wedding succeeds. She must prove neglect "without any fault on her part" for the period she pleads (paras 4 and 10). - It does not fix an amount. The Family Court sets it on the evidence; here it was Rs 10,000 a month with a 15% yearly rise (para 3). - It does not stop the Arbitration Council route under section 9 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance; that is in addition to other remedies. ## Questions people ask ### Can a wife claim past maintenance in Pakistan? Yes. Unpaid maintenance is "a debt owed by the husband" and delay does not cancel it (PLD 2026 SC 308, paras 4 and 10). ### How many years back can she claim? Article 120 of the Limitation Act gives six years from when the right to sue accrues, such as his clear refusal, and each unpaid month is a fresh claim. Here she recovered from June 2004 in a 2017 suit (para 9). ### What are maintenance arrears? Maintenance that fell due and was not paid. The Supreme Court treats arrears as a debt the husband owes his wife (para 10). ### Does a husband have to pay maintenance to his wife? Yes, from the marriage, according to his means, unless she is at fault; the duty rests on the Quran, Sunnah and the marriage contract (paras 2 to 7). ### Talaq ke baad biwi ka kharcha? Iddat ke dauran kharcha shohar par hai (para 5). Aur shadi ke dauran jo kharcha nahi diya gaya, woh qarz hai; time limit ke andar talaq ke baad bhi maanga ja sakta hai (PLD 2026 SC 308, paras 9 aur 10). ### Pichla kharcha mil sakta hai? Haan. Shohar ka na diya gaya kharcha qarz hai. Family court mein pichle mahinon ka kharcha bhi maangein, aur us ke saaf inkaar se chhe saal ke andar case karein (PLD 2026 SC 308). ## Sources - Muhammad Aslam Chattha v. Shehnaz Akhtar Zahoor Ahmed and another, PLD 2026 SC 308, Supreme Court of Pakistan, 18 November 2025, paras 1 to 11. Past maintenance is recoverable as a debt; delay does not exempt the husband; Article 120 applies, counted from a clear refusal, with a fresh cause of action each month under section 23; the Family Court's decree from June 2004 restored by the High Court stood; appeal dismissed. (verified against full text) - Limitation Act, 1908, First Schedule Article 120; section 23 (text checked in FAI Statute Search, 27 October 2026) (official text: https://pakistancode.gov.pk/english/UY2FqaJw1-apaUY2Fqa-apab-sg-jjjjjjjjjjjjj) - Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961, Section 9 (text checked in FAI Statute Search, 27 October 2026) (official text: https://pakistancode.gov.pk/english/UY2FqaJw1-apaUY2Fqa-apaUY2Npa5po-sg-jjjjjjjjjjjjj) ## What the reel says He stopped paying in 2004. She went to court in 2017. Are those thirteen years lost? Can a wife claim past maintenance in Pakistan? People say: maintenance only from the day she files. Wrong. Married in 2002. From 2004 he gave her nothing. In 2017 she sued. The family court gave her Rs 10,000 a month from June 2004; the appeal court cut it to 2017; the High Court put the thirteen years back. In November 2025 the Supreme Court said unpaid maintenance is a debt, and waiting doesn't cancel it (PLD 2026 SC 308). But don't wait too long: 1. The clock is six years from his clear refusal (Limitation Act, Art. 120). 2. Every unpaid month is a fresh claim. 3. Keep proof, and claim the past months too, in the family court. --- Educational legal information, not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts. Speak to a lawyer about your own matter. Last checked: 27 October 2026. Review status: Pending advocate review. English: https://failegal.site/media/can-wife-claim-past-maintenance-arrears-pakistan-pld-2026-sc-308 · Urdu: https://failegal.site/media/ur/can-wife-claim-past-maintenance-arrears-pakistan-pld-2026-sc-308 FAI Media is part of FAI Legal (https://failegal.site), research on Pakistani statutes and judgments. 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