SC issues 10 guidelines for family courts

Lawyers agree with apex court, say decision according to Islamic traditions

RAWALPINDI: The Supreme Court has ordered family courts in all the provinces of the country to implement its 10 guiding principles for the upbringing, education and parental love of children caught in disputes between parents.

Judicial circles are calling it a landmark judgement taken by a bench, comprising Justice Mushir Alam, Justice Faisal Arab and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, around a month ago.

The first point clearly states that underage children will stay with their mother till they attain the age of puberty.

Second point is that education, uniform, books and pick and drop for school will be the responsibility of the father. The father, apart from educational expenditures, every month will also provide another Rs5,000 for the miscellaneous needs of the children.



Third, the children will be able to visit the father every holiday at his home. The father will take the children from the mother’s house at 8pm on Friday and drop the children back at 1pm on Sunday.
Fourth, on the onset of summer holidays, the father will be able to take the children on the first Sunday and keep the children for four Sundays and on the fourth Sunday; the children will be dropped back at the mother’s house.

Fifth, during winter holidays from December 21 to 31, the children will stay with the father during the first week and then return their mother.

Sixth, the children will stay with the father from Chand Raat of Eidul Fitr till 8pm of the second day of Eid.
Seventh, the father will take the children on the second day of Eidul Adha at 11am and drop the children back at 10pm on the third day of Eid.

Eight, on unscheduled holidays, the children will stay with the father from 10am till 8pm.
Ninth, if there is any function such as marriage and the father desires the children to participate, then it will be binding on the mother to let the children participate.

Tenth, the mother and father will not incite the children against each other.

This historical decision has been sent to the family courts all over the country for guidance in hearings of family cases.

The decision has also been published in the SCMR gazette.
On Sunday, family court senior lawyers Masood Shah, Samina Bukhari, Tayaba Abbasi, Yasir Shah Tarnazai and Rawalpindi District Bar Secretary Shahzad Mir have termed the decision historical.

They said, “It is a landmark judgement in which all the three senior judges of the SC have protected the rights of the mother, father and children and the decision is according to the Islamic traditions.”