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case law
Divorce
Family Law
Muslim Law
Shah Bano case
By
Vanshika Kapoor
-
August 16, 2023
2207
0
This article is written by Monesh Mehndiratta, of Graphic Era Hill University, Dehradun. The
article explains the famous case of Shah Bano. This case pertains to the right of Muslim
women to seek maintenance and is considered as one of the landmark judgments in the
development of Muslim Personal Law. The article provides the brief facts of the case, issues
involved, opinions of the judges, judgement, and its critical analysis.
Introduction
Have you ever imagined that three words could actually change someone‟s life?
Three words..?
Shocking, right? You might be wondering what those three words are and how they can
change someone‟s life within seconds. Well, those three words are “Talaq, Talaq, Talaq”.
These words could change the status of Muslim married women from being married to
divorced within 3 seconds. Yes, that‟s true, Talaq-ul-biddat, one of the forms of talaq in
Muslim personal law involves pronouncing the word „talaq‟ three times which results in an
instant dissolution of marriage.
It has catastrophic implications on the woman as she is left at the whims of her husband
and has nowhere to go after divorce. Muslim marriage is majorly considered as a contract
that depends on the will of the parties. The husband has been given the right to divorce his
wife while the women did not have such rights. It was after certain amendments and
judicial decisions that Muslim woman‟s position was secured with respect to divorce,
maintenance and other rights. One such decision that created history in this regard and is
still considered as an important precedent for Muslim law is the „Case of Shah Bano‟. The
present article provides a case study on the Shah Bano case, gives the brief facts of the
case, and explains the judgement and law applied. It also provides the consequences of the
judgement and its analysis. Let us begin the journey to understand one of the historic
judgements related to Muslim marriage.
Details of the case
Citation
1985 AIR 945, 1985 SCR (3) 844
Date of judgement
23rd April, 1985
However, he was directed by the magistrate to pay maintenance of Rs.25 per month to the
respondent. Aggrieved by the amount of maintenance, she filed a revision petition to
enhance and increase the maintenance. The instant case is a result of an appeal filed by
the husband, Mohd. Ahmed Khan, seeking the dismissal of a petition filed by his aggrieved
wife who prayed for an increase in the amount of maintenance.
Is there any obligation on the husband under Muslim personal law to give
maintenance to his wife after divorce apart from?
Whether Section 125 of the Code is applicable to Muslim women?
Are Muslim women eligible for any kind of sum payable by their husband apart
from „Mahr‟ or „dower‟?
Ratio decidendi
With respect to the application of Section 125 of the Code, the Hon‟ble Supreme Court held
that it is applicable to all women irrespective of their religion. While dealing with the
question of whether there is any conflict between Section 125 of the Code and the Muslim
Personal Law, the court held that Section 125 is a part of the Criminal Procedure Code,
1973 and not of any personal law. This means every spouse irrespective of their religion is
under an obligation to pay maintenance to his wife until she remarries.
Further, it was held that mahr or dower is an amount payable to the Muslim wife as a
consideration for marriage and not after divorce. If a Muslim husband has paid the dower
or mahr completely then it will not satisfy his duty of paying maintenance to his wife after
divorce. Mahr or dower is a mark of respect for a wife under Muslim personal law and
cannot be considered as an amount payable on divorce. Thus, the petitioner was asked to
pay maintenance to his wife till she remarries.
The petitioner and his supporters relied on some texts and books to support the contention
that the Muslim husband is not under an obligation to pay maintenance to his wife after
iddat. The court observed that the texts referred by them failed to establish this proposition
and stress was laid to give regard to entire Muslim personal law and then decide the
liability of a husband to maintain his wife after divorce who has no means to sustain. The
court found the comparison of the amount of Mahr given as consideration to Muslim women
on marriage with the amount payable after divorce as maintenance, unjust and incorrect.
The true position is, if a Muslim woman is able to maintain herself, only then is the duty of
the husband to pay maintenance after the iddat period ceases. If she is unable to do so,
she can take the recourse of Section 125. This also settled the position that there is no
conflict between the said provision and the Muslim Personal Law.
With respect to the issue of any other sum payable to the wife apart from dower of mahr,
the court observed that the dower is a sum paid to the wife as a consideration for marriage
and is a mark of respect and not as maintenance after divorce. It was also observed that
Mahr is divided into two parts:
However, this amount cannot be considered as maintenance. This also opposes its aim
which is respect for the wife. Hence, it was concluded that any sum payable out of respect
or a mark of respect cannot be considered as a sum payable on divorce.
The Act was, however, contrary to the judgement delivered in the Shah Bano case and took
away the remedy of Section 125 of the Code given to Muslim Women. It provided that the
liability of a husband to pay maintenance to his wife is restricted to iddat period only.
However, the constitutional validity of the Act was challenged in the case of Daniel Latifi v.
Union of India (2001) on the ground that it is violative of Article 14, 15 and 21 of the
Constitution as it deprives Muslim women right to seek maintenance under Section 125 of
the code. The Supreme Court in this case clarified the position with respect to maintenance
to be paid to Muslim women by their husbands after divorce and provided that:
The Muslim husband is under an obligation to pay maintenance to his wife beyond
the iddat period after divorce and that he must also make fair and reasonable
provisions for her future maintenance.
The court also provided that if she is unable to maintain herself after iddat period,
it will be the responsibility of the relatives of her husband to take care of her and
give her maintenance. She can file an application in this regard according to
Section 4 of the Act.
If relatives are able to do so, it is the duty of the Wakf board to maintain her.
This was done to strike a balance between personal laws and the rights of divorced women
to seek maintenance and so the validity of the Act was upheld. However, the Act itself was
contrary to the judgement delivered by the Supreme Court in this case rendering the
judgement inapplicable. But the Hon‟ble Supreme Court settled the position with respect to
maintenance to Muslim women after divorce in the case of Daniel Latifi v. Union of India by
stating that Muslim women are entitled to maintenance even after the iddat period if she is
unable to maintain themselves. Thus, the case of Shah Bano is considered as one of the
historic judgements with respect to the rights of Muslim women in the country.
Though the judgement in this case was criticised by those who supported the petitioner,
one cannot forget that it gave equal rights of maintenance to Muslim women under Section
125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. It also led to the enactment of the Muslim
Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 which settled the issue of maintenance
to Muslim women after divorce. Such legislation for the protection of rights of Muslim
women was enacted for the first time and appreciated by women as their rights were
discussed and given importance.
Conclusion
The present case is considered to be a milestone in the development of Muslim Law and the
rights of women in the country. It gave equal rights to one such section which is considered
vulnerable and is neglected in society. Even today the case is considered as one of the
landmark cases delivered by the judiciary. It also highlighted the importance of Uniform
Civil Code in the country mentioned in Article 44 of the Constitution.
Women were mostly exploited and this is one of the situations where Muslim women
initiated to express themselves and fight for their rights. This case serves as a big step
towards the practice of courts of deciding involving interpretation of personal laws. Though
this case led to protest and controversy, it also resulted in enactment of a legislation to
protect the rights of Muslim women whose position was settled by the court in another
case.
References
https://indianexpress.com/article/what-is/what-is-shah-bano-case-4809632/
https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/india-at-75-epochal-moments-1985-
shah-bano-case/article65730545.ece
https://www.deccanherald.com/national/rs-20/month-alimony-how-1985-shah-
bano-case-paved-way-for-ucc-debate-1232459.html
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/new-updates/supreme-court-
revisits-uniform-civil-code-debate-45-years-after-shah-banos-rs-20-per-month-
alimony-judgment/articleshow/101359801.cms?from=mdr
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2644865
https://www.law.cornell.edu/women-and-
justice/resource/mohd_ahmed_khan_v_shah_bano_begum
https://legalvidhiya.com/mohd-ahmed-khan-vs-shah-bano-begum-and-ors-air-
1985-sc-945/
https://www.lawyered.in/legal-disrupt/articles/shah-bano-case-and-its-impact-
muslim-divorce-laws/
https://www.juscorpus.com/case-analysis-mohammed-ahmed-khan-v-shah-
bano-begum-1985/
https://www.opindia.com/2020/08/shah-bano-case-rajiv-gandhi-surrender-
muslim-hardliners-supreme-court-order-overturn/
http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1061/the-shah-bano-controversy-a-
case-study-of-individual-rights-religious-tolerance-and-the-role-of-the-secular-
state
https://lawplanet.in/danial-latifi-vs-union-of-india-case/
https://blog.ipleaders.in/danial-latifi-v-union-of-india-a-critical-analysis/
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