Non-Muslims cannot claim Muslim inheritance: LHC

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has declared that a non-Muslim is not entitled to inherit any share from the estate of his Muslim relative as successor or predecessor.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) dismissed a petition filed by Tariq Mehmood, son of Ghulam Qadir, over inheritance rights. The case revolved around 83 Kanal of land in Gojra, originally owned by Natho, a Muslim. 

After Natho’s death, the property was distributed among his sons, Ali Muhammad, Abdul Rehman, Ghulam Qadir, and his daughters, Mst. Fatima and Mst. Noor Bibi. The respondents, Fateh Muhammad and others, challenged Ghulam Qadir’s share in the inheritance arguing that he was a Qadiani and thus ineligible to inherit under Muslim Personal Law. 

Tariq Mehmood admitted during cross-examination that his father was a Qadiani and was buried in Chenab Nagar. Both the trial court and the appellate court ruled in favor of the respondents, citing Muslim Personal Law which prohibits non-Muslims from inheriting from Muslim relatives. 

Tariq Mehmood subsequently approached the LHC to contest these rulings. The court upheld the lower courts’ decisions, reaffirming the application of Muslim Personal Law as per the Shariat Application Acts of 1937 and 1948. 

It emphasized that inheritance rules based on Quran and Sunnah explicitly exclude non-Muslims from inheriting the estates of Muslims. The LHC further referred to Article 260(3) of the Constitution of 1973, which declared the Qadiani community as non-Muslims. 

The court observed that this classification operates retrospectively and aligns with Shariat principles. The court concluded that the petitioner failed to demonstrate any legal or procedural errors in the lower courts’ judgments. As a result, it affirmed the trial court’s decision in favor of the respondents declaring it lawful and requiring no further interference.