'Offer met with silence can't be accepted later'

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has set aside a family court's ruling, observing that an offer or proposal which is not expressly accepted and is instead met with silence, conduct or behaviour indicating disinterest or unwillingness, cannot be accepted at a later stage.

The case involved petitioner Ahmed Raza, who, during family court proceedings, offered that he had no objection to the decreeing of two suits - one for recovery of maintenance allowance and another for dowry articles and gold ornaments - in favour of Respondent No.2.

However, he made this conditional upon her parents or real brothers swearing a special oath on the Holy Quran, affirming that her claims were truthful.

Interestingly, at the time, the respondents did not respond to the offer, neither accepting nor rejecting it.

The petitioner subsequently closed his oral evidence, sought time to produce documentary evidence, and the case was fixed for final arguments on November 16, 2020.

However, before the final arguments could proceed, the respondents filed an application expressing their willingness to accept the petitioner's earlier offer made during cross-examination.

The petitioner contested this application, requesting the court to decide the suits on merit. Nevertheless, the family court ruled that the petitioner could not back out of the offer or proposal he had made.

Challenging this decision, the petitioner approached the LHC, which overturned the family court's order.

Justice Malik Waqar Haider Awan held that once the trial had moved forward, leaving the offer unaccepted, it became ineffective. "The party missed the train by not expressly accepting the offer promptly," the judge noted.

Thereafter, the petitioner's documentary evidence was recorded, and the matter was set down for final arguments.

Counsel for Respondents No. 2 to 4 contended that once the offer for a special oath was made, the petitioner could not withdraw from it.

Subsequently, the LHC held that a lack of timely acceptance rendered the proposal null and void.