The Allahabad High Court has ruled that a divorced Muslim woman can seek maintenance under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) even after the “iddat” period, unless she is disqualified due to reasons such as remarriage. The court overturned the decision of a family court, which had denied maintenance to Shakila Khatun on the grounds that a divorced Muslim woman is not eligible for maintenance.
The High Court referred to various Supreme Court cases, including Shamim Bano v. Asraf Khan (2014), Shamima Farooqui v. Shahid Khan, Shabana Bano v. Imran Khan (2010), and Danial Latifi v. Union of India (2001), to support its decision. In a 2015 case, the Supreme Court had held that a divorced woman’s maintenance petition under Section 125 of the CrPC before the Family Court would be valid if she did not remarry. The Supreme Court also ruled that the maintenance amount cannot be limited to the iddat period only.
The revisionist in this case had a Nikah with opposing party No. 2 in 2006 but was divorced in August 2009. She and her children filed a maintenance lawsuit under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.P.C.), as she had not remarried. The Family Court initially dismissed the case, but on revision, the Allahabad High Court overturned the order based on legal precedents and sent it back to the relevant court for a new decision.