The Supreme Court on July 10 ruled that a divorced Muslim woman is entitled to a claim of maintenance under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, against her former husband.
Key points
- The apex court affirmed that a parallel remedy under a secular law cannot be foreclosed by existing personal laws.
- A Muslim man had appealed against a Telangana High Court order allowing his ex-wife to seek maintenance under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC). Petitioner Mohd Adbul Samad challenged a 2017 family court order directing him to pay maintenance of Rs 20,000 per month to his former wife.
- The Telangana High Court, on appeal, refused to set aside the order of the family court.
- The law governing maintenance for destitute wives, children, and parents has been codified under Section 125 of the CrPC.
- The explanation to this provision clarifies that a “wife” includes a woman who has been divorced by, or has obtained a divorce from, her husband and has not remarried. It does not specify anything about the woman’s religion.
