PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has ruled that it cannot make reappraisal of evidence recorded by a family court even if the finding of facts recorded by that court is erroneous.

A single-member bench of Justice Fazal Subhan made the observation while dismissing two petitions filed by a couple against each other, challenging respective orders of a family court and an appellate court in Bannu.The bench observed that the West Pakistan Family Courts Act, 1964, was enacted to establish family courts for expeditious settlement and disposal of matters relating to matrimonial affairs and the matters connected thereto, as described in the preamble of the law.

It observed that section 3 of the Act provided for establishment of family courts, whereas under its section 5, the jurisdiction of those courts had been prescribed to exclusively deal with the matters described in the first schedule to the Act.

Similarly, the bench observed that under section 14 of the Act, an aggrieved party might have recourse to the court mentioned in that section and the judgment passed by the appellate court might be challenged through constitutional petition. It added that constitutional petition could be considered when an aggrieved party had beenable to show that the judgment of the two courts below suffered from misreading or non-reading of evidence.

`High court, therefore, cannot make reappraisal of evidence, if even finding of facts recorded by the family court is patently erroneous,` the bench ruled.

The separate petitions were filed by Ms Aisha and Mohammad Niaz, who had challenged the order of a family court in Bannu of December 18, 2021, and judgment of an appellate court delivered on March 15, 2022.

Following relations between the couple got strained, the wife filed a suit for recovery of her dower weighing 30 tolas of gold ornaments, maintenance at rate of R s15,000 per month for the past 10 months and onward and return of her dowry articles.

After institution of the suit, the respondent (husband) was summoned but he deniedall the averments of the plaintiff and sought restitution of conjugal rights and recovery of 13 tola gold allegedly given to petitioner at the time of her marriage.

In order to prove its case, both the parties availed the opportunity of producing their desired evidence.

After close of evidence, the family court through its judgment on December 18, 2021, granted a decree for recovery of 17 tolas gold ornaments in lieu of her remaining dower, recovery of past maintenance for 10 months prior to institution of suit till date of decision of the case at rate of Rs3,000 per month along with future maintenance after the date of decision of the case at the same rate with five per cent annual increase till she remained in the nikah of the respondent.

However, in case of payment of outstanding dower amount and maintenance to thepetitioner then he can file an execution petition for restitution of conjugal rights and in case of refusal of petitioner to live with respondent (husband) then from that very date she will not be entitled for the future maintenance.

The petitioner (wife) was also granted decree for recovery of undisputed dowry articles in the same used condition in which they were lying in the house of the respondent or in alternate Rs60,000 as its value.

The family court had also passed decree for restitution of conjugal rights in favour of the respondent (husband) and against the wife subject to payment of outstanding dower amount and maintenance allowance of the petitioner (wife).

Both the parties were aggrieved with the order of the family court and they filed appeals before the Bannu district judge, who rejected both the appeals.