Updated on July 11, 2024, 15:26 IST
“We hereby dismiss the appeal in the criminal case, concluding that Section 125 is applicable to all women and not only to married women,” Justice Nagarathna said.
The court ruled that the maintenance law applies to all married women.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Muslim women who have been wrongfully divorced through triple talaq can claim maintenance under Section 125 of CrPC.
- The Supreme Court holds that the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, does not override secular laws on maintenance.
- Supreme Court lawyer Jayant Sinha explains the historical reasons why Muslim women in India have traditionally not received maintenance.
In a groundbreaking ruling Supreme Court of India on Wednesday ruled that Muslim women who were wrongfully divorced through the pronouncement of triple talaq are entitled to maintenance from their husbands under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The verdict, delivered by a bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih, underscored the court's commitment to empowering Muslim women across the country. The court made it clear that the right to maintenance is available to all Muslim women, not just those who are currently married.
The Supreme Court’s decision also addressed the legal situation surrounding Muslim divorce law in India. It found that Muslim women (Protection of rights in divorce) Act of 1986, enacted in response to the groundbreaking The Shah Bano case of 1985 does not replace secular laws on maintenance.
The bench, headed by Justices BV Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih, was deliberating on whether a Muslim woman could invoke Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code to claim maintenance. In a judgment written by Justice Nagarathna, the court upheld the right of wrongfully divorced women to seek redress through legal channels.
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“If a divorce is invalid and illegal, such a Muslim woman can also seek relief under Section 125 of the CrPC,” Justice Nagaratna said.
In particular, the 2019 law criminalized the practice of triple talaq, which the Supreme Court had annulled in 2017.
Why were Muslim women do not receive maintenance Until now?
Responding to this question, Supreme Court lawyer Jayant Sinha said, “The problem of non-maintenance for Muslim women in India is historically linked to the interpretation of personal status laws based on religious texts and customs. In India, personal status laws relating to marriage, divorce and maintenance vary across religious communities. Muslim personal status laws in India, which are mainly based on Shariah, have traditionally not had the same concept of maintenance as secular or Hindu law. However, over the years, significant changes have been made through various landmark case laws.”
He also referred to the case of Shah Bano, a 62-year-old Muslim woman who divorced her husband and subsequently refused to pay her maintenance.
The Shah Bano case and the 1986 Law From Rajiv Gandhi Government
The Shah Bano case, decided in 1985, marked a turning point in the history of Muslim women's rights in India.
Shah Bano, a divorced Muslim woman, filed a suit demanding maintenance from her husband Mohammed Ahmed Khan. The Supreme Court ruled in her favour and awarded her the right to maintenance under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
This landmark ruling sparked widespread controversy and provoked objections from various Muslim organizations, politicians and clerics who argued that the ruling was contrary to Islamic law.
In response to this uproar, the Rajiv Gandhi government passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act in 1986. This law limited the right of divorced Muslim women to receive financial support from their ex-husband to just 90 days after the divorce, the so-called Iddat period.
Critics considered the law discriminatory because it deprived Muslim women of the right to receive basic services that women were entitled to under secular law.
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