Prayagraj: The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court, while giving an important decision in favor of Muslim women, has said that divorced Muslim women also have the right to get maintenance from their husbands under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Also said that they can get it even after the period of iddat. The High Court also made it clear in its decision that divorced women have this right until they remarry.
A bench of Justice Karunesh Singh Pawar of Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court gave this order on the criminal revision petition of petitioner Razia. In this revision petition filed in the year 2008, the order of a sessions court in Pratapgarh was challenged.
Section 125 of CrPC does not apply but…
The sessions court, while reversing the lower court’s decision, said that after the introduction of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, the case of the petitioner and her husband would be subject to this Act. The Sessions Court said that only under Sections 3 and 4 of the said Act, a Muslim divorced wife is entitled to maintenance. Section 125 of CrPC does not apply in such cases.
The bench set aside the decision of the sessions court and said that after the judgment given by the Supreme Court in the Shabana Bano case, it has been decided that a Muslim divorced woman is entitled to maintenance under section 125 even after the period of iddat. , until she marries another.
Know what is ‘iddat’
‘Iddat’ means to stay away from the next-born (who is likely to be married) for a certain period after the death or divorce of the woman’s husband. By the way, the duration of ‘iddat’ is of three types. An elderly woman has to avoid coming in front of another man for four months and 10 days, then during three monthly menstruation for a young woman. Apart from this, the iddat of a pregnant woman ends with giving birth to a child.
