In 1978, in Indore, MP, 62-year-old Shah Bano was divorced after 43 years of marriage through instant triple talaq by her husband, Mohd. Ahmed Khan, a lawyer fully aware of Muslim personal law. Left without financial support, she sought maintenance under Section 125 of the CrPC—a secular law meant to protect destitute wives, irrespective of religion.
In 1985, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in her favour, affirming that a divorced Muslim woman was entitled to maintenance beyond the iddat period as a citizen of India first. The judgment triggered massive backlash from conservative groups, leading the Rajiv Gandhi government to dilute the verdict through the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986—an act widely seen as vote-bank appeasement.
Later Supreme Court rulings restored the spirit of the Shah Bano judgment. The case paved the way for later reforms, such as the criminalization of instant triple talaq in 2017–2019.
