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ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday settled a 71-year-old family dispute, ruling that inheritance is a vested Sharia (Islamic) and legal right that devolves upon all heirs, including women, immediately upon the death of the family head.
The court held that this right cannot be defeated through private arrangements, social pressure, dubious revenue entries or procedural manoeuvres.
“The right of inheritance is not a bounty to be bestowed at the pleasure of male family members, nor a concession dependent upon custom, convenience or familial goodwill,” Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan observed while setting aside the Jan 26, 2017 judgement of the Lahore High Court’s Bahawalpur bench.
The dispute arose after Roshan, the owner of the suit property, died in 1955. Inheritance Mutation No. 74 was entered on April 4, 1955 in favour of his legal heirs. On the same day, Mutation No. 75 was recorded on the basis of an alleged verbal gift purportedly made by the widow and daughters in favour of the deceased’s two sons.
