Divorced Muslim woman can seek maintenance: Supreme Court

The bench said that the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986 would not prevail over the secular law.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that a Muslim woman is entitled to maintenance from her husband under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc).

The bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih dismissed a petition in the case, in which the man filed a plea against the direction to pay interim maintenance to his divorced wife under Section 125 CrPC.

The bench also ruled that if, during the pendency of the application, the woman gets divorced, then she can take recourse to the 2019 Act. The 2019 Act provides remedy in addition to the remedy under Section 125 CrPc.

The bench said that the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986 would not prevail over the secular law.

"We are dismissing the criminal appeal with the conclusion that Section 125 CrPC would be applicable to all women and not just married women," Justice Nagarathna stated.

The top court clarified that the law for seeking maintenance would be valid for all women and not just married women.

Justices Nagarathna and Masih in seperate but concurrent judgments upheld the Muslim woman's right to claim maintenance from her former husband, and dismissed the man's case.