Lahore High Court rules child maintenance cannot be waived through private agreement

Lahore: The Lahore High Court has ruled that a father cannot terminate a minor child’s right to maintenance through any agreement or consent deed.

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani of the Lahore High Court issued a detailed written judgment on a petition challenging maintenance obligations.

The court dismissed the father’s appeal and upheld the decisions of the trial court, family court, and appellate court, which had previously ruled in favor of child maintenance.

According to the judgment, the parties were married in 2002 and divorced in 2005. After the divorce, an agreement was made through family elders under which the father agreed to pay 60,000 rupees for the child’s maintenance.

The father later argued that the maintenance claim filed in 2019 was unlawful due to the earlier agreement. However, the court held that financial hardship does not absolve a father of his legal responsibility to support his minor child, stating that maintenance is a continuing obligation.

The court further observed that a minor child’s right to maintenance cannot be extinguished through any private settlement or consent agreement.

It added that child maintenance is not only a legal duty but also a moral and religious responsibility, and unpaid maintenance becomes an enforceable debt against the father.

The High Court also directed that copies of the judgment be sent to the Law and Justice Commission and the Ministry of Law and Justice.