– Shakilur Rahman
New Delhi, Feb. 14: The Supreme Court will consider whether criminal or personal law will be applicable in the case of a Muslim divorced woman under Section 125 of CrPC. The Court has appointed amicus curiae under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986. A Muslim man has moved the Supreme Court, challenging the Family Court order granting interim maintenance allowance to his divorced wife.
During the first hearing on February 9, the Supreme Court agreed to consider the legal question whether the Muslim woman has the right to maintain the petition under Section 125 of CrPC. The case challenging the order of the Family Court was heard by the bench of Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Augustine George Masih.
Earlier, on the petition of the woman, the family court ordered the husband to pay a monthly interim allowance of Rs.20,000 to his wife. This order was challenged in the Telangana High Court. And it was said that the parties had taken divorce in 2017 as per Muslim Personal Law. He also has a divorce certificate. But the family court didn’t consider this. Still the High Court didn’t cancel the interim maintenance order. However, keeping in view the facts involved and various provisions of law, the amount to be paid was reduced from Rs.20,000 to Rs.10,000 from the date of the petition.
A few years ago, in Iqbal Bano vs. UP State case, the Supreme Court had ruled that no Muslim woman could maintain a petition under Section 125 of the CrPC.
In the Shabana Bano vs. Imran Khan case, another bench of the Supreme Court decided that even if a Muslim woman is divorced, she can claim maintenance from her husband under Section 125 of CrPC after the period of Iddat is over.
After hearing the arguments of the petitioner, the Supreme Court appointed senior lawyer Gaurav Aggarwal as amicus curiae to assist the court.
The next hearing of this case is on February 19.
