Muslim women can demand subsistence allowance from their husbands: Supreme Court

New Delhi: A Muslim woman can seek maintenance from her husband, the Supreme Court said today. Women can also file a petition under Section 125 of the CrPC in this regard. The supreme court made it clear that secularism applies to all married women irrespective of their religion.

A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih emphasised that subsistence is not a donation but a right of all married women.

“We are dismissing this appeal before the Supreme Court and Section 125 will apply to all women,” Justice Nagarathna said while pronouncing the verdict.

Abdul Samad had filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Telangana High Court’s decision in this regard. He had said that a divorced Muslim woman was not entitled to file a petition under Section 125 of the CrPC.