— Right to claim mesne profits — Scope — The case involves the estate of a deceased individual who passed away in 2010, leaving behind a widow, five sons, and five daughters — His estate included a house in Rawalpindi — When the petitioner’s sisters claimed their inheritance, he initially agreed to an evaluation of the property and to pay their respective shares according to Shariah — However, after the evaluation, he withdrew from his commitment and challenged his signed “Consent/Joint Statement” in the High Court, claiming he did not understand what he had signed, despite being literate and having legal counsel present — The petitioner had filed a suit for partition, declaration, specific performance and permanent injunction in December 2021, two months after his sisters sought their inheritance — Supreme Court ruled that the pending suit had no effect on the rightful inheritance of the legal heirs and emphasized the importance of protecting women’s inheritance rights — The court condemned the petitioner’s dishonest tactics and dismissed his petition, imposing a fine of 300,000 rupees to be paid equally to the deprived heirs. Additionally, the respondents were granted the right to claim mesne profits for delays caused by the petitioner’s non-compliance with the agreed statement. [2025 SCLR 14 = 2025 SCMR 98 = 2024 SCP 349]

— The inheritance shares in the estate left by a Muslim is stipulated in the Holy Qur’an and a deceased’s legal heirs become owners on his/her death — Unfortunately, and all too often, females continue to be deprived of their inheritance by employing various nefarious tactics, bogus documentation, fraudulent statements with the facilitation of Revenue department officials and some advocates — The courts too at times are not vigilant enough to protect inheritance rights, particularly of females and other vulnerable members of society — And, simple inheritance cases are not expeditiously decided, and when they do get decided the decision is assailed — The practice of depriving females of their inheritance must be put a stop to, and those who do so must be made to pay substantial costs and not be permitted to benefit from procedural technicalities. [2025 SCLR 12 = 2025 SCMR 88 = 2024 SCP 336]