Supreme Court: Muslim women can seek spousal maintenance.
The Telangana High Court's decision to not intervene in the family court's maintenance order was challenged by one Mohd Abdul Samad, whose plea was dismissed by the highest court.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court decided on Wednesday that under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which is applicable to all married women regardless of faith, a Muslim woman can ask her husband for maintenance.
In a separate but contemporaneous ruling, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih stated that Muslim women are covered by Section 125 of the former CrPC, which addresses a wife's legal entitlement to maintenance.
As Justice Nagarathna delivered the decision, she stated, "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."
According to the Bench, maintenance is a married woman's right that is applicable to all married women, regardless of their religion; it is not charity.
The appeal of one Mohd Abdul Samad, who had contested the Telangana High Court's decision to not intervene in the family court's maintenance ruling, was dismissed by the highest court.
He has argued that a Muslim woman who has divorced must use the provisions of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, rather than Section 125 of the CrPC, which grants support.
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