Father jailed for one year for failing to pay Rs200,000 in child maintenance

However, the former husband can secure immediate release by depositing one-third of the outstanding maintenance amount of Rs200,000 and submitting a surety bond undertaking to pay the remaining amount. Read:Divorce, khula cases swamp family courts.

The case, titled Jabeen Akhtar versus Zafar Mahmood, was heard by the family judge, who, after proceedings spanning one year, ordered the accused, former husband Zafar Mahmood, son of Sabir Hussain, to pay Rs200,000 as maintenance for his two children.

During proceedings for implementation of the decree, the court issued six warning notices to the father, directing him to deposit the maintenance amount.

However, the former husband appeared before the court and surrendered, stating that he was unemployed and did not even have money to buy food for his household, making it impossible for him to pay Rs200,000. He was facing severe unemployment, had exhausted his options after borrowing money from others and that the amount was too large for him to arrange.

The court observed that its decision constituted a judicial decree and that the father was bound to pay the Rs200,000 maintenance amount. For failing to comply with the decree, he was sentenced to one year in prison and sent to Adiala Jail.

The former wife, Jabeen Akhtar, belongs to Faisalabad, where she returned to live with her parents after the divorce, while her former husband is a resident of Mari Jabar Road, Rawalpindi.