ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has ruled that the children of a predeceased brother cannot claim inheritance under Section 4 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961.
A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi dismissed a petition filed by the legal heirs of late Javed Iqbal Rana and upheld the Lahore High Court’s March 18, 2026 decision.
The court clarified that Section 4 specifically provides inheritance rights to the children of a predeceased son or daughter of the person whose estate is being distributed. The provision does not extend to the children of a predeceased brother.
The case concerned a property in Model Town Extension, Lahore, owned by Ejaz Ahmad Rana, who died childless on December 31, 2018. The petitioners were the children of his brother, who had died before him.
The court observed that inheritance rights are determined according to applicable law and cannot be created solely on the basis of a blood relationship or by extending a statutory provision to relatives not covered by it.
The bench further held that Section 4 could not be extended through analogy to include children of a predeceased brother. Any independent inheritance claim by such relatives would have to be determined under the applicable principles of Muslim personal law.
The Federal Constitutional Court subsequently dismissed the petition and maintained the Lahore High Court’s ruling.
