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Summary  The petitioner, Mst. Selab Akhtar, sued for dissolution of marriage alleging cruelty, recovery of 30 tolas of dower (Haq Mehr) and past maintenance. Family Court dissolved the marriage by khula, held 10 tolas paid and 20 tolas surrendered, and awarded maintenance only for iddat; appellate and High Court affirmed. The Supreme Court found cruelty unproven but the marriage had irretrievably broken down; it held that a court should not convert a cruelty suit into khula without the wife’s informed election when significant financial rights are at stake, remanded the case for the Family Court to obtain the petitioner’s clear election (khula on lawful terms or continue seeking relief for cruelty) and to pass a fresh decree accordingly within 30 days. Core points  Parties: Petitioner Mst. Selab Akhtar vs. respondent Quwat Khan; marriage 19.09.2016; Haq Mehr fixed at 30 tolas gold. Allegations: Petitioner alleged physical/mental cruelty, coercion, expulsion and neglect; sought dissolution, full dower, and retrospective maintenance. Procedural history: Family Court (29.06.2019) dissolved marriage by khula, found 10 tolas paid, 20 tolas surrendered, maintenance only for iddat; Appeal and High Court (22.09.2025) upheld decisions. Supreme Court holding on facts: Cruelty not proved on civil standard, but marriage had collapsed quickly and petitioner consistently refused to resume marital life. Legal principle: A suit pleaded on cruelty should not be converted into khula without the wife’s conscious, informed and unequivocal election when valuable financial rights (like unpaid dower) are implicated. Court’s balancing: Courts must avoid imposing impossible proof standards for domestic cruelty (use preponderance of probabilities) yet not accept allegations casually because they carry stigma. Remedy ordered: Concurrent findings on cruelty left intact; judgments set aside in limited respect (mode of dissolution and financial adjustment); remand to Family Court to record petitioner’s informed election and pass fresh decree within 30 days. Outcome: Petition converted into appeal and allowed in part; no order as to costs. Law and…