Muslim Board terms SC ruling on alimony for Muslim women against 'Shariah', to explore ways to overturn verdict

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has termed the Supreme Court's ruling, which entitles a divorced Muslim woman to alimony from her ex-husband, as against Sharia (Islamic law) asserting that it will explore all possible measures to overturn the verdict.

On July 10, the top court ruled that a divorced Muslim woman is entitled to an alimony from her ex-husband under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc).

The court had said this was a “religion-neutral” provision applicable to all married women “irrespective of any personal law”.

The AIMPLB Working Committee in a meeting on July 14 discussed the Supreme Court verdict on the maintenance of Muslim divorcee women and adopted a resolution, which stated it is against the "Sharia" (Islamic law).

"The board has authorized its President, Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, to seek all possible measures (legal, constitutional and democratic) to ensure that “this decision by the Supreme Court is rolled back,” AIMPLB spokesperson Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas said after the meeting.

"The board emphasized that the Holy Prophet had mentioned that amongst all permissible deeds the most abhorred is divorce in the sight of Allah, hence it is desirable to continue the marriage by applying all permissible measures to safeguard it and follow several guidelines mentioned in the Holy Quran about it. However, if married life becomes difficult to maintain, then divorce was prescribed as a solution to mankind," the resolution read.

AIMPLB stated that it can't align “with human reasoning that the man is held responsible to maintain his ex-wives when the marriage itself is non-existent”.

"The board observed that this judgment will create further problems for women who have successfully come out of their painful relationship," it added.

Apart from the alimony issue, the AIMPLB adopted five more resolutions, including one against the UCC.
“The (AIMPLB) legal team has drafted a petition and it will be filed in Uttarakhand HC later this month," Ilyas said.