'Not charity, right'; Muslim women are entitled to seek alimony after divorce, says Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: In a historic judgement, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said that Muslim women are also entitled to seek alimony from their husbands after divorce. The bench comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Augustine George Masih made the judgement after rejecting the petition of a Muslim man challenging the Telangana High Court order to pay interim maintenance to his divorced wife. The court said that a Muslim woman can seek maintenance from her husband under section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The Supreme Court ruled that Section 125 of CrPC is applicable not only to married women but to all Indian women. The bench observed that the law for seeking alimony applies to all married woman, irrespective of their religion.

"Alimony is not charity, but the right of married woman. Some husbands are not conscious that the wife, who is a homemaker is dependent on them emotionally and in other ways. Time has come for Indian men to recognise a homemaker's role and sacrifice," Justice Nagarathna said.