NEW DELHI: In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a divorced Muslim woman is entitled to seek maintenance from her husband under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The apex court added that the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, will not stand over the secular law.
A bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Justice Augustine George Masih delivered this crucial judgement upholding a Muslim woman's right while hearing a Muslim man's petition in the apex court challenging the Telangana high court's order to pay a compensation of Rs. 10,000 as interim maintenance to his ex-wife.
Furthermore, the supreme court ruled that if, during the pendency of any application under Section 125 CrPC, a Muslim woman gets divorced, then she can resort to the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019.
"We are hereby dismissing the criminal appeal with the major conclusion that Section 125 CrPC would be applicable to all women and not just married women," Justice Nagarathna said while pronouncing the verdict, as quoted by Bar and Bench.
The bench made it clear that the law for seeking maintenance applies to all married women, irrespective of their religion.
The case pertains to a petition by a man, who had challenged the Telangana High Court's directive to pay Rs 10,000 interim maintenance to his former wife.
This verdict was challenged before the Telangana High Court on grounds that the couple divorced as per Muslim personal law in 2017. The High Court modified the maintenance to Rs 10,000 per month and directed the family court to dispose of the case within six months.
The respondent, the man's former wife, raised grievances before the Supreme Court over the filing of claims under Section 125 of the CrPC.
The lawyer, representing the Muslim man in the case, argued that as per the Muslim Women Act 1986, a divorced woman is not entitled to claim benefit under Section 125 CrPC.
Justices Nagarathna and Masih in separate but concurrent judgments dismissed the man's case and upheld the Muslim woman's right to claim maintenance from her former husband.
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