The Supreme Court today ruled that a Muslim woman has the right to request financial support from her husband according to section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), a law that applies to all married women regardless of their religion.
The verdict was delivered by a panel of Judges BV Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih, who each provided a separate but concurring judgment.
They stated that section 125 of the previous CrPC, which addresses a wife's entitlement to financial support, also extends 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 court mentioned that providing maintenance to married women is not an act of charity but a right, applicable to all married women regardless of their religion.
The highest court rejected the appeal of Mohd Abdul Samad, who had contested the Telangana High Court's decision not to intervene in the maintenance order issued by the family court.
He argued that a divorced Muslim woman is not eligible for maintenance under Section 125 of CrPC and must instead rely on the provisions of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986.
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