In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court has ruled that Muslim women can claim maintenance from their divorced husbands under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973. Justices B V Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih stated that Section 125 CrPC applies to all women, not just married women.
The case stemmed from an appeal by Mohd. Abdul Samad, ordered to pay ₹20,000 to his ex-wife by a family court in Telangana. The Supreme Court’s decision reaffirms the rights of women to seek maintenance and ensures their financial security post-divorce.
News via: Indian Express
Section 125 of the CrPC says:
“(1) If any person having sufficient means neglects or refuses to maintain
a. his wife, unable to maintain herself, or
b. his legitimate or illegitimate minor child, whether married or not, unable to maintain itself, or
c. his legitimate or illegitimate child (not being a married daughter) who has attained majority, where such child is, by reason of any physical or mental abnormality or injury unable to maintain itself, or
d. his father or mother, unable to maintain himself or herself,
A Magistrate of the first class may, upon proof of such neglect or refusal, order such person to make a monthly allowance for the maintenance of his wife or such child, father or mother, at such monthly rate as such Magistrate thinks fit and to pay the same to such person as the Magistrate may from time to time direct.”
