Muslim woman can seek alimony from husband under section 125 of CrPC: Supreme Court

Dismissing a plea filed by a Muslim man against the direction to grant alimony to his divorced wife, the apex court said that section 125 of CrPC, which deals with maintenance of wife after divorce, applies to all married women, irrespective of their religion.

Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday (July 10) ruled that any Muslim woman can seek alimony from her husband under section 125 of CrPC. Section 125 of CrPC deals with the legal rights of wife regarding maintenance after divorce. The court added that this secular provision applies to all married women, irrespective of their religion. According to a report by Live Law, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih said this while dismissing a petition filed by a Muslim man – Mohammed Abdul Samad – against the direction to pay alimony to his divorced wife under Section 125 of the CrPC. Mohammed Abdul Samad had challenged the order of the Telangana High Court, in which the court refused to interfere with the order of the Family Court to pay alimony to his divorced wife.

The Supreme Court has concluded that the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 will not prevail over secular law.

Justice Nagarathna said, ‘We are dismissing this appeal with the conclusion that Section 125 of the CrPC will apply to all women, not just married women. The bench further clarified that if a Muslim woman is divorced during the pendency of the petition under Section 125 of the CrPC, then she can resort to the Muslim Women (Protection of Marriage Rights) Act 2019. The bench also said that the remedies available under the Muslim Women (Protection of Marriage Rights) Act, 2019 are in addition to those available under Section 125 of the CrPC, reported Live Law.

Courtesy: Hindi News