SAHIBZADA ASADULLAH, J. Through the instant petition under Article 199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republi c of Pakistan, 1973, the petitioner has called in question the judgment and decree dated 20.5.2019 rendered by learned Additional District Judge-V , D.I.Khan, whereby the appeal of petitioner/defendant against the judgment and decree dated 20.7.2018 of learned Civil Judge-IX/Judge Family Court-I, D.I.Khan was partially modified to the extent of maintenance while remaining claims were dismissed.
2. Brief facts of the controversy are that the respondent/plaintif f Mst. Rubina Shaheen entered into wedlock with the respondent/husband Sakhawat Hussain by virtue of Nikah-nama dated 04.4.2010 and Kabin-nama dated 12.3.2010 was also duly executed where in it was stipulated that petitioner shall provide dower in shape of 10 tola gold ornaments and 1/3 share of the house. The petitioner/husband appeared before learned Family Court and contested the suit by filing his written statement. Divergent articulations of the parties were condensed into 10 issues and after recording of pro & contra evidence, learned Civil Judge-DC/Judge Family Court-I, D.I.Khan partially decreed the suit vide judgment and decree dated 20.7.2018.
3. Feeling disgruntled from the said judgment and decree both the sides preferred separate appeals before learned Additional District Judge-V , D.I.Khan. Learned appeal Court while adjudicating the appeals, dismissed the appeal of the petitioner Sakhawat Hussain while partially modified and accepted the appeal of respondent/wife Mst. Rubina Bibi by holding the petitioner entitled for the claim of maintenance allowance vide consolidated judgment and decree dated 20.5.2019.
4. Having heard learned counsel for the parties, it appears from the Nikah-nama and evidence brought on record by the parties that 1/3 share in suit house mentioned in Nikah nama as well as Kabin-nama was agreed to be given to the respondent/wife by the petitioner as dower on the eve of marriage and the same was incorporated in relevant column of Nikah-nama. Under the law, once a husband gives immovable property as dower and it is incorporated in the Nikah-nama, such property becomes property of the wife. Moreover , once entries are incorporated in the Nikah- nama, the same are equated to a registered deed. Strong presumption of truth is attached to such entries made in the Nikah-Nama. In the instant case, the petitioner has failed to rebut the presumption attached to the contents of Nikah-nama through any cogent evidence and there appears to be no manipulation or fabrication of any sort from the contents and circumstances surrounding it. Reference in this regard can be made to the following judgments reported as Mst. Ishrat Bano v. Noor Hussain and 2 others (2010 YLR 2452 ) ii. Nazish Ishaq and another v.
Additional District Judge Liaquatpur and 3 others (2013 YLR 1118) iii. Mst. Nabeela Shaheen and others v.
Zia Wazeer Bhatti and others (PLD 2015 Lahore 88) iv. Mst. Kanizan Begum v. Additional District Judge, Layyah and 2 others (2014 MLD 1479 ) v. Dr. Asma Ali v. Masood Sajjad and others (PLD 2011 Supreme Court 221) vi. Ashiq Ali and others v . Mst. Zamir Fatima and others (PLD 2004 Supreme Court 10).
5. I have given my anxious consideration to the entire evidence available on record and given due weight to the arguments of learned counsel for the parties and in my considered view, the plaintif f/respondent has produced good, cogent and authentic evidence in support of her contention because Ex.PW -1/1 & Ex.PW -2/1 (Nikah-nama & Kabin-nama) shows that at the time of Nikah, the petitioner committed & agreed to transfer 1/3 share to the respondent out of his suit house in lieu of dower amount. The careful reading of Kabin-nama dated 12.3.2010 and Nikah-nama reveals that signatures of petitioner , marginal witnesses and scribe of the deeds are available wherein they endorsed and verified both the documents. The plaintif f/wife in order to establish her contention has examined marginal witness of Nikah-nama as well as Deed to prove her stance regarding possession of 1/3 share of suit house and 10-Tola gold ornaments. Therefore, respondent/wife is entitled to the award of decree as passed by the learned Courts below .
6. I have examined the evidence led by both the sides as well as the judgments of both the courts below delivered on the basis of evidence. It is apparent from the record that evidence led by the plaintif f/respondent in order to substantiate her claim of dowry articles is sufficient and learned trial court has rightly determined and decided this issue. In order to prove this fact, she besides recording her own statement also examined other witnesses and all the witnesses were subjected to lengthy cross-examination but they remained consistent on this material point.
Albeit, it is also the practice and culture in this part of the area that dowry articles is provided by the parents, list of dowry articles attached and duly exhibited in evidence consists of routine dowry articles and can under no circumstances be termed as unreasonable. The respondent/wife even otherwise has led sufficient evidence to prove her claim of dowry articles.
7. Likewise, the contentions of learned counsel for the respondents regarding withholding of best evidence is concerned, I do not see any force in the same as for proving dower , dowry articles and maintenance, no deficiency has been found in evidence led by the petitioner . Learned counsel for the petitioner has failed to point out that the above findings of fact arrived at by the learned Courts below are not in conformity with the evidence brought on record and law applicable thereto.
8. So far as the maintenance allowance of wife is concerned, suffice it to say that under the Islamic law, it is the responsibility of the husband to provide maintenance to wife so that she may live a respectable life, besides, there is failure on the part of the petitioner to maintain her. Even otherwise, the petitioner has contracted second marriage without prior permission and consent of the respondent/wife and when the husband has contracted the second marriage without permission of first wife, she would be entitled to maintenance allowance, irrespective of fact as to whether she left house at her own choice or was compelled to do so. In the instant case evidence to this effect brought on record and reasons recorded by appeal Court are quite reasonable.
9. Moreso, while exercising jurisdiction under Article 199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, this Court would not enter into factual controversies which has already been dealt with by a competent Court of law vested with statutory powers, particularly when there is no jurisdictional error or other legal infirmities such as arbitrariness and others, in the order assailed before the High Court. It is not the mandate of High court in writ jurisdiction to substitute its own findings for the findings recorded by the court of appeal after due appraisal of evidence. The contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner has no substance and he badly failed to take us otherwise.
10. The pith and substance of above discussion is that the impugned judgment is perfect in all respects, with proper application of judicial mind to the facts, circumstances and evidence available on file which hardly calls for interference by invoking the constitutional jurisdiction of this Court under Article 199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973. The party approaching the High Court under Article 199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 has to demonstrate that there is gross misreading or non-reading of the evidence or any jurisdictional defect floating on the surface but in the instant writ petition, all these preconditions are clearly missing, therefore, the instant petition is devoid of any force which is dismissed with no order as to cost.