25/07/2026
PLD 2026 SC 308
Supreme Court determined the extent of the period for which a neglected wife can claim maintenance, concentrating on the maximum retrospective period that the Court can consider when deciding such claims.
A wife's claim to recover past maintenance is governed by Article 120 of the Limitation Act, 1908, prescribing a six-year period; but since non-payment of maintenance recurs monthly and constitutes a "continuing wrong" under Section 23 thereof, a fresh cause of action accrues de die in diem with each missed payment, so that the limitation bar operates only upon the remedy and not upon the underlying debt, entitling the wife to recover arrears for the period falling within six years preceding the suit notwithstanding her earlier delay in approaching the Court.
C.A.1413/202
Muhammad Aslam Chattah v. Shehnaz Akhtar Zahoor Ahmed and another
