Supreme Court upholds alimony rights for divorced Muslim women

In a landmark judgment on July 10, the Supreme Court of India ruled that a divorced Muslim woman is entitled to an alimony from her ex-husband under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

A Muslim man's petition challenging a directive to provide maintenance to his divorced wife under CrPC was dismissed by a Bench comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Augustine George Masih, which asserted that the law for seeking maintenance applies to all women, irrespective of their religion.

"We are hereby dismissing the criminal appeal with the major conclusion that Section 125 would apply to all women and not just married women," Justice Nagarathna said. Justice Nagarathna and Justice Masih delivered separate, but concurrent judgments.

The petition by one Mohammad Abdul Samad was filed after he was directed by a family court to pay a monthly allowance to his divorced wife.

He challenged the direction of the Telangana High Court, which refused to intervene. He then moved to the Supreme Court for a verdict in is favor.

Samad contended that a divorced Muslim woman is not entitled to maintenance under Section 125 of CrPC and the provisions of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, should be invoked.

His counsel argued that Muslim women can seek recourse under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, which offers more provisions than Section 125 of the CrPC. He also said that a special law like this Act should take precedence over a general law.

The court further said maintenance is “not charity, but the right" of married women. "Some husbands are not conscious of the fact that the wife, who is a homemaker, is dependent on them emotionally and in other ways. The time has come when the Indian man must recognize a homemaker's role and sacrifice," the court remarked strongly.

Earlier, in the much talked about 1985 Shah Bano case, the Supreme Court had ruled that Section 125 of CrPC applies to everyone, irrespective of their religion. However, this ruling was superseded by the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, which stated that a Muslim woman can seek maintenance only during the period of 'iddat' — 90 days after the divorce.

In 2001, the Supreme Court affirmed the Constitutional validity of the 1986 Act, stating that the obligation of a man to provide maintenance to his divorced wife extends till she remarries or can support herself.

The apex court clarified that if a Muslim woman is divorced while her petition under Section 125 of the CrPC is pending, she can use the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019. The bench said that the remedy provided by the 2019 Act is available in addition to the remedy under Section 125 CrPC.

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 was passed by the Modi-led BJP government in July 2019, criminalizing 'Triple Talaq'. The law entitles divorced Muslim women to seek subsistence allowance from their husbands for themselves and their dependent children.