NEW DELHI: In a significant decision, the Supreme Court has affirmed that divorced Muslim women have the right to seek maintenance from their ex-husbands under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). This ruling clarifies that the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, does not supersede secular laws regarding maintenance.

According to reports from legal news website Bar and Bench, the SC bench comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Augustine George Masih delivered separate but concurring judgments. They upheld the rights of a Muslim woman after a petitioner challenged a Telangana High Court directive to pay Rs.10,000 as interim maintenance to his divorced wife.

"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," stated Justice Nagarathna during the verdict.

The Supreme Court also clarified that if a Muslim woman gets divorced while her application under Section 125 CrPC is pending, she can still seek relief under the provisions of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019. This Act supplements the remedies available under Section 125 CrPC.

The case underscored a debate on whether a divorced Muslim woman could claim maintenance under Section 125 of CrPC, as argued by the appellant citing the 1986 Act. Earlier, senior counsel Gaurav Aggarwal was appointed as amicus curiae by the Court to assist in deliberating on this issue.

Section 125 of the CrPC mandates that individuals with sufficient means must support their wife, children, and parents if they are unable to support themselves. The definition of 'wife' under this section includes a woman who has been divorced and has not remarried.

Contrary to the provisions of the 1986 Act, which primarily governs maintenance during the 'iddat' period (a three-month period following divorce), the Supreme Court has consistently upheld the applicability of Section 125 CrPC to divorced Muslim women until they remarry.

The case originated when a woman approached a family court in Hyderabad, alleging her husband had divorced her through triple talaq in 2017. She sought Rs.50,000 monthly maintenance under Section 125 of CrPC, leading to a series of legal proceedings culminating in the recent Supreme Court ruling.

Initially, the family court ordered the husband to pay interim maintenance of Rs.20,000 per month, later reduced to Rs.10,000 by the High Court in December 2023. The High Court instructed the family court to resolve the case within six months.

In response, the petitioner argued before the Supreme Court that the 1986 Act precludes a divorced Muslim woman from seeking maintenance under Section 125 CrPC. The SC's decision, however, affirms that such claims are valid under secular law.

This ruling is expected to set a precedent for similar cases and reinforce the rights of divorced Muslim women to seek maintenance under broader legal frameworks.

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