Family · Supreme Court of Pakistan
She left her husband's house. Has she lost her maintenance?
The myth: “If a wife leaves her husband's house, she loses her maintenance.”Wrong, if his cruelty drove her out
The short answer
Not if she left because of his cruelty. A husband's duty to maintain his wife continues when his cruelty drives her out, and the Supreme Court has said cruelty may be mental as well as physical. In November 2022 it restored a wife's dissolution for cruelty and set aside an order that she return five tolas of gold.
Mst. Tayyeba Ambareen v. Shafqat Ali Kiyani · Supreme Court of Pakistan · 2023 SCMR 246 · decided 3 November 2022
By the FAI Legal editorial desk · 10 October 2026 · 4 min read
Many wives are told that the moment they leave the husband's house, they give up any claim to maintenance (nafqa), whatever made them leave.
This matters to any wife who has left, or is thinking of leaving, a home where she is mistreated, and to families trying to understand her rights.
Key points
- A husband is bound to maintain his wife. Quoting Mulla's Principles of Mahomedan Law, para 277, the Supreme Court in 2023 SCMR 246 noted the exception for a wife who "leaves the husband's house on account of his cruelty" (paragraph 16).
- Cruelty may be mental or physical.
- The Court restored the Family Court's decree dissolving the marriage for cruelty, and set aside the decisions that had turned it into khula with an order to return five tolas of gold (paragraph 17).
- The husband's claim to take her back was, in the Court's words, "motivated with the sole intention to avoid paying the maintenance allowance and the dower amount" (paragraph 16).
The rule in one line
A wife who leaves without reason may lose her claim to maintenance. A wife who leaves because of her husband's cruelty does not, and cruelty is not only beating: it can be mental.
What happened in this case
The husband pressed his wife for money. While she was pregnant, he and his family spread a false accusation that the child was not his. He left her deserted, paid her no maintenance, did not even pay the delivery expenses, and demanded that her salary go into a joint account (paragraph 15).
The Family Court dissolved the marriage on the ground of cruelty.
The appellate court turned the dissolution into khula and ordered her to return five tolas of gold, and the High Court upheld that decision.
What the Supreme Court said
The Supreme Court decided the wife's case on 3 November 2022, reported as Mst. Tayyeba Ambareen v. Shafqat Ali Kiyani, 2023 SCMR 246.
The Court quoted para 277 of Mulla: a husband is not bound to maintain a disobedient wife, unless she "leaves the husband's house on account of his cruelty" (paragraph 16). The Family Court had found cruelty on these facts, and cruelty may be mental as well as physical.
Both the appellate and High Court decisions were set aside and the Family Court's decree dissolving the marriage for cruelty was restored (paragraph 17).
His claim to bring her back
The husband had claimed restitution of conjugal rights, asking that she come back to him. The Court found that this claim was "motivated with the sole intention to avoid paying the maintenance allowance and the dower amount" (paragraph 16).
A claim to take a wife back does not, by itself, cancel what he owes her.
The case at a glance
- Facts
- The husband pressed his wife for money; while she was pregnant he and his family falsely accused her that the child was not his; he left her deserted, paid no maintenance or delivery expenses, and demanded her salary in a joint account. The Family Court dissolved the marriage for cruelty; the appellate court converted it into khula with return of five tolas of gold; the High Court upheld that.
- The question
- Whether the wife, who left because of the husband's conduct, was entitled to dissolution for cruelty rather than khula, and what to make of the husband's claim to take her back.
- What the Court held
- The appellate and High Court decisions were set aside and the Family Court's decree dissolving the marriage for cruelty was restored.
- Why
- A husband remains bound to maintain a wife who leaves his house on account of his cruelty. Cruelty may be mental or physical. His claim for restitution was a device to avoid paying maintenance and dower.
- Limits
- The judgment turns on proved cruelty. A wife who leaves without any reason may be in a different position. The decision does not set a maintenance amount for other cases.
The law it relies on
One of the grounds for dissolution is that the husband treats her with cruelty, that is to say, "habitually assaults her or makes her life miserable by cruelty of conduct even if such conduct does not amount to physical ill-treatment".
What this does not mean
- It does not mean a wife may leave for any reason and still claim maintenance. The rule protects a wife who leaves because of his cruelty.
- It does not mean cruelty must be physical. It can be mental, such as false accusations and deliberate neglect.
- It does not fix how much maintenance is payable. That depends on the facts and the court's findings in each case.
Questions people ask
I left because my husband mistreated me. Can I still claim maintenance?
The Supreme Court in 2023 SCMR 246, quoting Mulla para 277, noted that the husband stays bound to maintain a wife who leaves his house on account of his cruelty. Cruelty may be mental or physical. You will need to prove the cruelty, so speak to a family lawyer.
What counts as mental cruelty?
In this case the conduct included a false accusation that the child was not the husband's, leaving his pregnant wife deserted, paying no maintenance or delivery expenses, and demanding her salary. Under s.2(viii)(a) of the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, cruelty includes making her life miserable by cruelty of conduct even without physical ill-treatment.
My husband has filed a case to take me back. Does that end my maintenance?
Not by itself. In this case the Supreme Court found the husband's claim to take his wife back was motivated by the sole intention to avoid paying maintenance and dower.
Check yourself
True or false? “If a wife leaves her husband's house, she loses her maintenance.”
Wrong, if his cruelty drove her out. Not if she left because of his cruelty. A husband's duty to maintain his wife continues when his cruelty drives her out, and the Supreme Court has said cruelty may be mental as well as physical. In November 2022 it restored a wife's dissolution for cruelty and set aside an order that she return five tolas of gold.
Next one: true or false? “If a mother remarries, she loses custody of her children.”
Sources
- Mst. Tayyeba Ambareen v. Shafqat Ali Kiyani, 2023 SCMR 246 (Supreme Court of Pakistan, 3 November 2022), paras 15, 16, 17
A husband remains bound to maintain a wife who leaves on account of his cruelty; cruelty may be mental or physical; khula order with return of gold set aside and the Family Court's dissolution for cruelty restored. verified against full text Supreme Court of Pakistan (judgment PDF) - Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939, s.2(viii) text checked in FAI Statute Search Pakistan Code
Every quote and section above is traced to the full judgment or statute text by an automatic check that runs on every update.
What the reel says
Read the words of the reel
Heard this one? "If a wife leaves her husband's house, she loses her maintenance." Wrong, if his cruelty drove her out.
A husband must maintain his wife. The Supreme Court restated the rule: if she leaves his house because of his cruelty, that duty stays. And cruelty is not only physical; it can be mental too.
One wife was pregnant. Her husband and his family said the child was not his; he left her alone, paid no maintenance and not even the delivery costs, and demanded her salary go into a joint account.
The Family Court dissolved the marriage for cruelty. The appellate court turned it into khula and told her to return 5 tolas of gold, and the High Court upheld that.
The Supreme Court (November 2022): both set aside, the Family Court decree restored. His claim to "bring her back", in the Court's words, seemed motivated "with the sole intention to avoid paying the maintenance allowance and the dower amount" (2023 SCMR 246).
A wife who leaves without any reason may be in a different position. Every case turns on its facts. Talk to a lawyer about your own.
Educational legal information, not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts. Speak to a qualified lawyer about your situation. Reading this page does not create a lawyer and client relationship. Review status: Pending advocate review. How we check.
