LHC orders widow to receive inheritance share after 27 years

Lahore: The Lahore High Court has ruled in favor of a widow, Siddiqa Bibi, directing that she be given her rightful share in her family’s inheritance after a legal battle spanning 27 years.

The court issued a detailed 12-page written verdict, overturning the trial court's decision, and emphasized that the widow could not be deprived of her legitimate inheritance rights.

The judgment noted that false claims regarding property are common within families, and often, oral claims of property being gifted are made to substantiate such assertions.

The High Court further observed that instead of supporting his widowed sister during difficult times, her brother tried to deprive her of her rightful share in the inheritance.

Expressing regret, the court remarked that some men, in violation of Shariah law, attempt to usurp women’s inheritance rights. The ruling stressed that women’s inheritance rights must be fully protected, and if a woman is claimed to have relinquished her share, it must be proven beyond doubt.

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According to the widow, following their father's demise, her brother had initially assured her of her rightful share in the inheritance and even shared the income from the land for some time.

However, after the death of her husband, her brother refused to continue giving her any share.

In 2011, the widow filed a claim in the trial court, where her brother argued that their father had gifted him 59 kanals of land during his lifetime. The trial court dismissed her claim in 2014.

Challenging the decision, the widow filed an appeal in the Lahore High Court, which has now nullified the trial court’s ruling and ordered that she be granted her rightful share in the inherited property.