Supreme Court: In Special Leave to Appeal (Criminal) against a decision of the Telangana High Court, wherein, a plea by a Muslim man (husband) against Family Court’s direction to pay an interim maintenance of Rs. 20,000 per month to his divorced wife, was dismissed, and High Court directed him to pay an interim maintenance of Rs. 10,000 per month, the Division Bench of BV Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih, JJ. in separate but concurring judgments, while considering the question whether a Muslim woman is entitled to maintain a petition under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 held that divorced Muslim woman can file a claim for maintenance under Section 125 of the CrPC against her husband.
The husband’s case was that in view of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, (‘1986 Act’) a divorced Muslim woman is not entitled to maintain a petition under Section 125 of the CrPC and has to proceed under the provisions of the 1986 Act. It was submitted that the 1986 Act is more beneficial to the Muslim woman as compared to Section 125 of the CrPC.
The Court dismissed the appeal and Justice Nagarathna said that Section 125 of CrPC is applicable to all women and not just married women.
Source: Press
[Mohd Abdul Samad v. State of Telangana, Special Leave to Appeal (Criminal) 1614/2024]
Buy Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 HERE
