The Lahore High Court has ruled that a husband cannot be prosecuted for raping his wife unless the divorce has legally taken effect in line with the mandatory provisions of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance (MFLO) 1961.
Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh issued the decision while hearing a petition filed by Jameel Ahmad, who sought the quashing of an FIR registered against him at Police Station City Liaqatpur under Section 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
According to the FIR, the complainant alleged that the petitioner first lured her into cohabitation and later married her on April 22, 2024.
She claimed that she later discovered he was already married and that he divorced her on October 14, 2024, following her protest.
The complainant further alleged that on October 17, three days after the divorce, the petitioner, along with a co-accused, entered her house at night, where he raped her at gunpoint.
The petitioner denied the allegations, stating that the FIR was filed as an act of revenge after the divorce.
While he admitted to issuing a written talaq deed, he argued that the divorce had been revoked on December 23, 2024, within the 90-day reconciliation period prescribed under the law. He also told the court that he had filed a suit for restitution of conjugal rights, which is still pending.
In his judgment delivered at the Bahawalpur bench, Justice Sheikh observed that the key issue before the court was whether the talaq had legally taken effect by October 17, 2024, the date on which the alleged incident took place.
