Maintenance right of Muslim Wife!
The law related to maintenance of Muslim Wife can be found in the Crpc and The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 and over a period of time certain judgments have shaped the rights of muslim wife maintenance from husband.
The constitutional bench of Supreme court speaking through Justice Y V Chandrachud pronounced in the case of Mohd. Ahmed Khan V Shah Bano Begum that Muslim divorced woman is entitled to the benefits of Sec. 125 of Criminal Procedure Code and the said provision over-rides the Personal Laws if there is any conflict between the two. Thereby divorced Muslim Wife was held entitled to maintenance under the provisions of Section 125 Cr PC.
That the said provision came under huge criticism from Muslim Community and to appease and pacify them and to circumvent the law laid down by Hon’ble Supreme Court of India the then Government of India came out with The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 making the provision for maintenance of wife only upto the period of Iddat period as per section 3 (3) of the act which specify as follow:-
“(3) Where an application has been made under sub- section (2) by a divorced woman, the Magistrate may, if he is satisfied that-
- her husband having sufficient means, has failed or neglected to make or pay her within the Iddat period a reasonable and fair provision and maintenance for her and the children;”
That the said issue of maintenance for Muslim wife under section 125 Cr.PC again came before Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in case of “Shabana Bano vs Imran Khan” if the benefit of maintenance under section 125 Crpc would be available to muslim wife who has been divorced the Hon’ble Division Bench of Supreme Court speaking through Justice B. Sudershan Reddy specifically stated that:-
“ Petitioner under Section 125 of the Cr.P.C. would be maintainable before the Family Court as long as appellant does not remarry. The amount of maintenance to be awarded under Section 125 of the Cr.P.C. cannot be restricted for the iddat period only.
- Cumulative reading of the relevant portions of judgments of this Court in Danial Latifi (supra) and Iqbal Bano (supra) would make it crystal clear that even a divorced Muslim woman would be entitled to claim maintenance from her divorced husband, as long as she does not remarry. This being a beneficial piece of legislation, the benefit thereof must accrue to the divorced Muslim women.
- In the light of the aforesaid discussion, the impugned orders are hereby set aside and quashed. It is held that even if a Muslim woman has been divorced, she would be entitled to claim maintenance from her husband under Section 125 of the Cr.P.C. after the expiry of period of “iddat” also, as long as she does not remarry.”
Post the decision the situation is very clear that the Muslim Women is equally entitled to the benefit of maintenance U/s 125 Cr PC as available to all women of India and said entitlement goes beyond “Iddat” Period.
