New Delhi: In a historic judgement, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that Muslim women can seek maintenance from their husbands under section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which deals with a wife's right to maintenance, applies to all married women regardless of their religion.
Section 125 covers Muslim women
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih, in a separate but concurrent verdict, said that section 125 of the erstwhile CrPC, which addresses a wife's legal right to maintenance, also applies to Muslim women. "We are hereby dismissing the criminal appeal with the major conclusion that section 125 would be applicable to all women and not just married women," Justice Nagarathna said while pronouncing the verdict.
The bench emphasised that maintenance is not charity but a right of married women, applicable to all married women regardless of their religion.
The top court dismissed the petition of Mohd Abdul Samad, who challenged the Telangana High Court's decision not to interfere with the family court's maintenance order.
Samad argued that a divorced Muslim woman is not entitled to maintenance under Section 125 of the CrPC and should instead seek relief under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986.
(With PTI inputs)
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