Decision On Maintenance Claim By Muslim Woman Under CrPC Section 125 Reserved By Supreme Court

The Supreme Court reserved its decision on whether a Muslim woman divorced under Muslim personal law is entitled to claim maintenance under CrPC section 125. The apex court is still to decide whether a divorced Muslim woman can ask for maintenance under CrPC or not. The Court is to consider whether CrPC will be effective in such cases or the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 will be applicable. A bench headed by Justice BV Nagarathna reserved its decision after hearing the case.

Muslim man challenged decision of family court

A Muslim man has petitioned the Supreme Court to challenge a family court’s decision to order his divorced wife to receive interim maintenance. The Supreme Court decided to take up the legal issue and question of whether a Muslim woman has the right to uphold the petition under Section 125 of the CrPC during the first hearing.  A secular law for the maintenance of a spouse, child, or parents is established in Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

In the case under consideration, a Muslim woman filed a petition under Section 125 of the CrPC, requesting maintenance from her husband. The order of the family court was questioned by the bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih. In her court filing, the petitioner begged her husband to provide Rs 20,000 in interim maintenance each month.

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Divorce under Muslim Personal Law

The Telangana High Court heard a challenge to the family court’s ruling, pointing out that the parties’ 2017 divorce was finalized in accordance with Muslim personal law.
The Supreme Court upheld a divorced Muslim woman’s right to maintain her Section 125 CrPC maintenance petition in 2013, restoring a family court order. But in 2019, a Muslim woman’s request for maintenance was denied by a family court ruling that was overturned by Justice Ahsan Amanullah, a Patna High Court judge. According to Justice Amanullah, a Muslim woman may file an application for maintenance under the 1986 Act and the CrPC. He said that because she is a divorced Muslim woman, it cannot be said that she has been deprived under the law.