The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a Muslim woman is entitled to maintenance from her husband under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 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,challenging Telangana high court's direction to pay Rs10,000 interim maintenance to his ex-wife.
The bench also ruled that if, during the pendency of the application, the woman gets divorced, then she can take recourse to the (Protection of Rights on Marriage) 2019 Act. The bench said that the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986 would not prevail over the secular law. The bench stated that the remedy under the 2019 Act is in addition to the remedy under Section 125 CrPC,adding that the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, will not prevail over the secular law.. The top court clarified that the law for seeking maintenance would be valid for all women and not just married women.
Initially, a family court had directed petitioner Abdul Samad to pay an interim maintenance of Rs 20,000 per month to his ex-wife. He challenged this decision before the Telangana high court on the grounds that the couple was divorced as per the Muslim personal law. According to the petitioner, a divorced Muslim woman is not entitled to claim any alimony under Section 125 CrPC in view of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986,
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