# Dowry articles case: are gifts to his family hers too? > No. What was given to the bride stays hers, even after divorce; gifts to the groom's family are not her dowry. - Topic: Family - Court: Supreme Court of Pakistan - Citation: C.P.L.A. No. 3284-L of 2022 - The myth: "Everything on her dowry list is hers, even the gifts to his family." Verdict: Wrong: the Supreme Court struck those gifts off. - Watch: https://failegal.site/media/dowry-articles-case-gifts-to-groom-family-2025 (video https://failegal.site/media/dowry-articles-case-gifts-to-groom-family-2025/reel.mp4, 1:15) - Published by FAI Legal on 2026-11-09 Everything given to a bride as dowry or bridal gifts stays hers, even after a divorce, but gifts her family gave to the groom's family are not hers to claim. On 15 April 2025 the Supreme Court took items 65 to 72 of a bride's dowry list, the gifts given to the groom's family, out of her decree, and kept the rest of it in her favour. Those gifts could still be hers if it is clearly shown that they were meant solely for her use or benefit. The Court also said its ruling is no endorsement of dowry: any property the bride received remains exclusively hers. ## Key points - What was given to the bride is hers for good: "This absolute vesting of rights in the bride remains unaffected by any subsequent separation or divorce, thereby reinforcing her enduring and independent entitlement to such property." (para 4). - Gifts to his family are a different thing: "presents" given to the groom's family cannot be claimed by the bride under the Act unless it is clearly established that they were intended solely for her use or benefit (para 9). - The lower courts had mixed the two: "The courts below have examined this list failing to appreciate the distinction between "dowry" and "presents"." (para 4). - Items 65 to 72 of her list came out of the decree; everything else on it stayed hers (para 12). - The Court: "this ruling must not be misconstrued as an endorsement of dowry" (para 11). ## Dowry articles case: the short answer Can a wife claim the gifts her family gave to the husband's family as part of her dowry? Not as her dowry. Everything given to her, by her own family or by the groom's, is hers and stays hers after a divorce. But gifts given to the groom's family are not hers to recover, unless it is clearly shown that they were meant solely for her use or benefit. The Supreme Court decided this on 15 April 2025 and struck those items off a bride's decree. People search this as dowry articles case, recovery of dowry articles in pakistan, dowry list for marriage in pakistan and, in Roman Urdu, jahez ka saman. Who keeps the dowry and the bridal gifts after khula or divorce in general is on our page failegal.site/media/jahez. ## Sialkot, 2018: one list, two kinds of gifts The couple married on 5 February 2018 and had a daughter; the marriage then ended in a divorce. The wife sued for her maintenance and her dowry, with her parents' list of what they had given attached to the suit. The trial court partly decreed the suit for the dowry and maintenance on 10 March 2022 (para 1). Both sides appealed to the Additional District Judge, Sialkot. On 19 September 2022 the value of the dowry was enhanced and the claim for maintenance was dismissed. The husband's civil revision was dismissed by the Lahore High Court on 17 October 2022, and he went to the Supreme Court (para 1). Her list also held items that had been given to the groom's family. The Supreme Court noted that "The courts below have examined this list failing to appreciate the distinction between "dowry" and "presents"." (para 4). ## We checked it in FAI Legal The judgment is on FAI Legal's Judgment Search, marked as a citation from the court record, with every paragraph open in the judgment reader. The paragraphs quoted on this page are paras 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 11 and 12. Section 5 of the Dowry and Bridal Gifts (Restriction) Act, 1976 is on Statute Search. ## April 2025: what is hers, and what is not The question was one line: "The primary legal question before us is whether the "dowry" claimed by the bride includes "presents" given to the groom or his family." (para 3). First, the Court made the bride's side clear. Under section 5 of the Act, everything given to her as dowry or bridal gifts, and every present given to her, vests absolutely in her, and "This absolute vesting of rights in the bride remains unaffected by any subsequent separation or divorce, thereby reinforcing her enduring and independent entitlement to such property." (para 4). Then the line: "items gifted to the groom or his relatives, unless clearly shown to be intended for the bride's use or held in trust for her benefit, fall outside the protective ambit of the Act." (para 5). On the list in this case, "These items are listed at Sr. Nos. 65 to 72 in Exhibit P.2 which cannot be decreed in favour of the bride." The decree was changed to leave them out, and "the impugned judgment is modified to exclude these items, while the suit decreed in favour of the respondent to the extent of the remaining items is maintained." (para 12). ## Why the law draws that line The Act has three kinds of gifts. Dowry is property given to the bride by her parents in connection with the marriage; bridal gifts are given to the bride by the groom or his parents; presents are other gifts, given to either party or to their relatives (section 2, quoted in para 4). Section 5 makes the bride the full owner of her dowry, her bridal gifts and the presents given to her, and of nothing else. So, in the Court's words, "presents" given to the groom's family cannot be claimed by the bride under the Act unless it is clearly established that they were intended solely for her use or benefit (para 9). Her claim in the Family Court covers her dowry, her bridal gifts, the presents given to her and her personal property, but not presents given to the groom or his relatives (para 6). ## Not an endorsement of dowry The Court ended with a warning about the custom itself: "this ruling must not be misconstrued as an endorsement of dowry; rather, it serves as a firm reminder that any property received by the bride remains exclusively hers and is not subject to claim or appropriation by the groom or his family." (para 11). Mehr is the only obligatory provision; gifts from the bride's family should be voluntary and given without social pressure (para 11). ## Making a list? Write it in two parts Most disputes like this one start with a list that mixes what was given to the bride with what was given to the groom's family. A list in two parts, one for the bride and one for gifts to the groom's family, shows from the start which items are hers. Your case may be different: talk to a family lawyer about your own list. ## Find rulings like this on FAI Legal FAI Legal is a website: open failegal.site in your phone's browser, there is nothing to download. Ask your question in plain words, read section 5 on Statute Search, and see this judgment in full on Judgment Search. Don't go by what you hear: read the judgment yourself. ## The case at a glance - **Facts:** Married on 5 February 2018, a daughter, then a divorce; the wife's suit for maintenance and dowry, with her parents' list (Exhibit P.2), was partly decreed on 10 March 2022; on appeal the Additional District Judge, Sialkot enhanced the dowry's value and dismissed the maintenance claim on 19 September 2022; the Lahore High Court dismissed the husband's revision on 17 October 2022 (para 1). - **The question:** Whether the dowry claimed by the bride includes presents given to the groom or his family (para 3). - **What the Court held:** Dowry, bridal gifts and presents given to the bride vest absolutely in her, unaffected by separation or divorce; presents given to the groom's family cannot be claimed by her unless clearly shown to be meant solely for her use or benefit; items 65 to 72 of her list were excluded and the rest of the decree maintained; the petition was converted into an appeal and allowed (paras 4, 9, 12 and 13). - **Why:** Sections 2(a), 2(b), 2(e) and 5 of the Dowry and Bridal Gifts (Restriction) Act 1976 distinguish dowry, bridal gifts and presents, and vest in the bride only what was given to her (paras 4 and 5); the Family Courts Act lets a wife recover her dowry and personal property, not presents given to the groom or his relatives (para 6); the reading follows Articles 23, 24, 25 and 35 of the Constitution and Muslim law, under which property given to the wife at the marriage is presumed hers (paras 7 and 8). - **Limits:** A gift to the groom's family can still be the bride's if it is clearly established that it was meant solely for her use or benefit, or held in trust for her (paras 5 and 9). The ruling does not reduce what was given to the bride, and the Court said it is no endorsement of dowry (para 11). ## The law it relies on - **Dowry and Bridal Gifts (Restriction) Act, 1976, Section 5 (vesting of dowry etc. in the bride):** All property given as dowry or bridal gifts and all property given to the bride as a present shall vest absolutely in the bride and her interest in property however derived shall hereafter not be restrictive, conditional or limited. ## What this does not mean - It does not mean the bride loses her dowry after a divorce: everything given to her, by her family or the groom's, stays hers; only the gifts given to the groom's family were taken out. - It does not mean every gift to his family is safe from a claim: a gift clearly meant solely for her use or benefit, or held in trust for her, can still be hers (paras 5 and 9). - It does not endorse dowry: the Court said the ruling must not be read that way (para 11). - The reel's sitting room, the friend and the items drawn on the list are a picture of the question; the judgment does not say what items 65 to 72 were, only that they were given to the groom's family. ## Questions people ask ### Can a wife claim the gifts given to the husband's family after a divorce? Not as her dowry. On 15 April 2025 the Supreme Court held that presents given to the groom's family cannot be claimed by the bride unless it is clearly established that they were intended solely for her use or benefit, and it took those items out of her decree (C.P.L.A. No. 3284-L of 2022, paras 9 and 12). ### Does the dowry belong to the wife after a divorce? Yes. Under section 5 of the Dowry and Bridal Gifts (Restriction) Act, 1976, dowry, bridal gifts and presents given to the bride vest absolutely in her, and the Supreme Court said this is unaffected by any separation or divorce (para 4). ### What is the difference between dowry, bridal gifts and presents? Dowry is given to the bride by her parents; bridal gifts are given to the bride by the groom or his parents; presents are other gifts in connection with the marriage, to either party or to their relatives (section 2 of the Act, as quoted in para 4). ### Can the husband take back the bridal gifts his family gave her? Under section 5 of the Act, bridal gifts given to the bride by the groom or his parents vest absolutely in her, and her interest in them is not restrictive, conditional or limited. Ask a lawyer about your own facts. ### Jahez ki list mein larke walon ke tohfay bhi hon to kya woh wapas milenge? Dulhan ko jo diya gaya woh hamesha uska hai, talaq ke baad bhi. Lekin larke walon ko diye gaye tohfay uska jahez nahi, jab tak saaf sabit na ho ke woh sirf uske istemal ke liye thay (Supreme Court, 15 April 2025). ## Sources - A v. B (names withheld), C.P.L.A. No. 3284-L of 2022, Supreme Court of Pakistan, 15 April 2025. Dowry, bridal gifts and presents given to the bride vest absolutely in her, unaffected by divorce; presents given to the groom's family cannot be claimed by her unless meant solely for her use or benefit; items 65 to 72 excluded. - Dowry and Bridal Gifts (Restriction) Act, 1976, Section 5 (text checked in FAI Statute Search, 9 November 2026) (official text: https://pakistancode.gov.pk/english/UY2FqaJw1-apaUY2Fqa-bpuUY2Rp-sg-jjjjjjjjjjjjj) ## What the reel says Dowry articles after divorce: are the gifts to his family hers too? You're divorced, and her dowry list arrives. Your friend says everything on it is hers, even the gifts your family got. Wrong. This really happened, in Sialkot: married in 2018, then divorce. She sued for her dowry, and her list also held gifts her family gave his. The lower courts counted it all, the appeal raised the value, and the High Court said no. On 15 April 2025 the Supreme Court said: 1. Everything given to the bride, as dowry or bridal gifts, is hers forever, even after divorce. 2. Gifts given to the groom's family are not her dowry: items 65 to 72 of her list came out of the decree; the rest stayed hers. 3. The limit: a gift clearly meant only for her use is still hers. 4. The Court: this ruling is no endorsement of dowry. Making a dowry list? Write it in two parts: hers, and his family's. For your own case, talk to a lawyer. Full story: failegal.site/media/dowry-articles-case-gifts-to-groom-family-2025 Is this rule fair to both sides? Tell us in the comments, no names. --- Educational legal information, not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts. Speak to a lawyer about your own case. Last checked: 9 November 2026. Review status: Pending advocate review. English: https://failegal.site/media/dowry-articles-case-gifts-to-groom-family-2025 ยท Urdu: https://failegal.site/media/ur/dowry-articles-case-gifts-to-groom-family-2025 FAI Media is part of FAI Legal (https://failegal.site), research on Pakistani statutes and judgments. Free to watch and read.