Porni Banerjee | ১০ জুলাই ২০২৪ ১৭ : ৫৯Porni Banerjee

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a divorced Muslim woman is entitled to seek maintenance from her husband under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc). 

The bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih said that Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986 would not prevail over the secular law.

The court said that the law would for seeking maintenance would be applicable for all women and not just married ones.

The bench pronounced its verdict, upholding a Muslim woman’s right while dismissing a petition filed by a Muslim man in the apex court who challenged Telangana high court"s decision to pay Rs 10,000 per month for the maintenance of his former wife.

The court also directed that during the pendency of the application under Section 125 CrPC, if a Muslim woman gets divorced, then she can take recourse to the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019.  

The court’s verdict, pertaining to the case ‘Mohd Abdul Samad vs State of Telangana’, comes after the husband (petitioner) raised grievances claiming that his ex-wife has sought maintenance from him despite getting a divorce in 2017.

Initially, a family court had instructed Abdul Samad to pay Rs 20,000 as a monthly interim maintenance. However, the man challenged before the Telangana High Court on grounds that the couple divorced as per the Muslim personal law and claimed that a divorced Muslim woman does not have the right to ask for maintenance under Section 125 CrPC in view of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, reported Bar and Bench. Following this, the High Court reduced the amount Rs 10,000 every month.

The petitioner husband later approached the Supreme Court challenging the high court’s direction. However, the top court dismissed the man’s case.