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 'Judiciary in India seemingly working beyond its constitutional
limits'
“Some judgments pronounced by
various courts recently has given rise to the feelings that the judiciary in
India is working beyond its constitutional limits”, observed
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New Delhi:
A Muslim man is bound to maintain his divorced wife and minor
children till she gets remarried, the Delhi High Court has said.
The Court said that irrespective of
Muslim personal laws, under which the husband is bound to maintain
his wife only during Iddat period which is around three months after
divorce, the wife is entitled for maintenance under Criminal
Procedure Code till she remarries.
"It is crystal clear that even a Muslim divorced woman would be
entitled to claim maintenance from a Muslim husband till she has not
married (again). This being a beneficial piece of legislation (CrPC),
the benefit must accrue to the divorced Muslim women," the court
said.
"Petition under Section 125 CrPC (pertaining to award of
maintenance) would be maintainable (for the wife) before Family
Courts so long as she does not remarry and the amount of maintenance
to be awarded under the Act cannot be restricted for Iddat period
only," the court said while referring to a Supreme Court judgement.
It further said that the husband owes
responsibility to maintain not only his ex-wife but also the minor
children living with her.
The court passed the order while dismissing a petition filed by a
man challenging a lower court's award of maintenance of Rs 2,000 per
month to his minor daughter living separately with her mother.
Brushing aside the man's contention
that the right to get maintenance for the minor children ceases
after two years of divorce as provided in personal law, the court
said that the sustenance right cannot be restricted unless the
divorcee gets remarried.
"I consider that this contention is baseless. Even a wife who has
been divorced under Muslim Law is entitled to claim maintenance
under the Criminal procedure code after the Iddat period", Justice Dhingra said.
"I consider that the benefit cannot be denied to a minor daughter
because of any restrictive provision contained in Muslim Women
(Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986," he added.
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