Supreme Court upholds the Sindh High Court decision and directs Bait-ul-Mal to provide monthly support to two minor Hindu girls.
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has upheld the Sindh High Court’s decision concerning the financial support of two minor Hindu girls and directed Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal to provide each girl with a monthly stipend of Rs10,000 until marriage.
Chief Justice Yahya Afridi issued a 13-page written judgment, clarifying the role of courts and Bait-ul-Mal in cases involving financially deserving individuals and children.
According to the judgment, identifying deserving individuals falls within the court’s authority, while Bait-ul-Mal will determine the form, amount and duration of assistance under its applicable policies and eligibility criteria.
The court said that where the circumstances of a case indicate that an applicant should approach Bait-ul-Mal, the matter may be referred to the institution for consideration. Bait-ul-Mal can then assess the applicant’s circumstances according to its policy and determine the appropriate form and extent of assistance.
The Supreme Court also observed that courts can direct that a deserving case be referred to a relevant welfare institution where appropriate. Referring deserving individuals to Bait-ul-Mal can serve as an effective mechanism for providing assistance, the judgment said.
In the case before the court, Hindu woman Rita’s husband, Ravi Kumar, died by suicide in 2017. Following his death, Rita sought financial support for herself and her two daughters from their grandfather, Ram Raj.
The judgment noted that Ram Raj was elderly and had neither a source of income nor his own residence. A family court had initially fixed monthly maintenance of Rs3,000 each for the two minor girls and ordered a 10% annual increase.
Ram Raj challenged the family court’s decision before the Sindh High Court, which held that he did not have a legal obligation to support the minor children under the circumstances.
Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal subsequently approached the Supreme Court against the Sindh High Court’s direction.
The Supreme Court maintained that directing the family to approach Bait-ul-Mal was legally appropriate where the matter fell within the institution’s mandate.
The court ordered Bait-ul-Mal to pay Rs10,000 per month each to Jessica and Sanika until their marriages, with the stipends to increase by 10% annually.
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