Holding

A Muslim woman who is not divorced may maintain a petition under Section 125 CrPC; the 1986 Act applies only to divorced women and the earlier revision court's view is unsustainable.

Summary

Iqbalbano, married in 1959, filed a petition under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in 1992 seeking maintenance from her husband, who claimed that he had divorced her by pronouncing "Talaq" three times, had paid the Mehr and that the Iddat period had ended. The Judicial Magistrate granted maintenance, but the revision court set aside the order, holding that after the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, a Muslim woman could only claim maintenance under the Act and not under Section 125. The High Court dismissed the revision, prompting an appeal to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court held that Section 125 proceedings are civil in nature, the 1986 Act applies only to women who are legally divorced, and a mere statement of divorce in a written statement does not constitute a valid divorce. Consequently, a Muslim woman who is not divorced may maintain a petition under Section 125. The Court set aside the High Court order and remitted the matter for fresh consideration.

Issues considered

Whether a Muslim woman who is not legally divorced can maintain a petition under Section 125 of the CrPC for maintenance.
Whether the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 bars such a petition and applies only to divorced women.
Whether a statement of divorce in a written statement suffices to establish a legal divorce.
Whether proceedings under Section 125 CrPC are civil in nature and can be tried alongside claims under the 1986 Act.

Legislation cited

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973s. 125
Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986s. 3, s. 3(1)(a), s. 3(3), s. 4

Subjects

MaintenanceSection 125 CrPCMuslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) ActTriple TalaqDivorceCivil proceedingsMuslim personal law

Judgment

IQBALBANO A
v.
STATE OF U.P. AND ANR.

JUNE 5, 2007

[DR. ARIJIT PASAYAT AND D.K. JAIN, JJ.] B

- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

s.125-Claim for maintenance by Muslim wife from her husband- C
Maintainability of-Held: Conclusion by revisional court that in view of
assertion in written statement about alleged divorce by utterance of words
"Talak" "Talak" "Talak" three times and mentioning this in written statement
amounted in law to divorce is not sustainable-Besides, proceedings uls. 12 5
Cr.P.C. are civil in nature-Even if court notices that the claimant was a
divorcee it was open to court to treat the petition one under Muslim Woman D
(Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act-High Court would decide the matter
keeping in view the principles indicated Jn the judgment-Muslim Woman
(Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986-s.3.

s. I 25-Proceedings under-Nature of-Held: Proceedings under the E
section are civil in nature.

Appellant was married to respondent no.2 in the year 1959. In the year
1992 she filed an application under s.125 Cr. P.C. claiming maintenance. In
the written statement, respondent no.2 stated that he had divorced the appellant
by uttering "Talak" "Talak" "Talak", had paid "Mehr" and the "lddat" period F
was over and, therefore, the claim was not maintainable. The Judicial
Magistrate granted a monthly maintenance of Rs.450/- holding that there was
no material to substantiate the plea of divorce. In the revision petition filed by
the husband, the revisional court held that after the enactment of the Muslim
Woman !Protection of Rights on Divorce! Act,1986, petition by any married G
Muslim woman u/s. 125 Cr. P.C. was not maintainable; and such woman could
claim maintenance under the Act and not under the Cr.P.C. It was also held
that mention was made in the written statement about the divorce purportedly
30 years back and the mentioning about this fact in law amounted to divorce.
The writ petition of the wife having been dismissed summarily by the High
Court, she filed the instant appeal. H
949
/
~
\

950 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2007) 7 S.C.R.

A Disposing of the appeal and remitting the matter to the High Court, the
Court.

HELD: 1.1. The view expressed by the first revisional court that no
Muslim woman can maintain petition under Section 125 Cr.P.C. is clearly
unsustainable. The Muslim Woman I Protection of Rights on Divorce I
.
,

B Act,1986 only applies to divorced woman and not to a woman who is not
divorced. The conclusions that in view of the statement in the written statem,~nt
about alleged divorce 30 years back by utterance of the words "Talak" "Talak"
"Talak" three times is sufficient in law, is not sustainable. The conclusions
about the Mehr having been paid and the lddat period is over has no relevance.
C !Paras 6 and 711951-E, F; 952-F, GI

Shamim Ara v. State of UP. and Anr., 1200217 SCC 518; Danial Latifi
and Anr. v. Union of India, (200217 SCC 746 and Sabra Shamim v. Maqsood
Ansari, (20041 9 SCC 616, relied on.

D 1.2. Proceedings under Section 125 Cr. P.C. are civil in nature. Even if
the Court notices that there was a divorced woman in the case in question, it
was open to the Court to treat it as a petition under the Act considering the
beneficial nature of the legislation. Proceedings under Section 125 Cr. P.C.
and claims made under the Act are tried by the same Court.
E (Para 911956-E, F)

Vijay Kumar Prasadv. State of Bihar and Ors., (2004[ 5 SCC 196, relied
on.

1.3. The order of High Court is set aside. The High Court while deciding
F the Matter shall keep in view the principles indicated in the Judgment.
!Para 10 and 1111957-A, BI

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal No. 795 of
2001.

G From the Judgment and Order dated 06. I0.1999 of the High Court of
Judicature at Allahabad in Criminal Revision No. 1161 of 1995.

T.N. Singh for the Appellant.

S. Wasim A. Qadri, Mukesh Verma, Anuvrat Sharma, Sanjay Kumar
H Singh (for Jatinder Kumar Bhatia) and R.C. Verma (for K.K. Gupta) for the
J )

IQBALBANOv. STATEOFU.P. [PASAYAT.J.) 951

Respondents. A
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

DR. ARIJIT PASAYAT, J. I. In the present appeal the appellant questions
correctness of the order passed by a learned Single Judge of the Allahabad
High Court dismissing her revision petition (Criminal Revision No.1161 of B
1995). The appellant had questioned correctness of the order passed by

- )
learned Additional Sessions Judge, Aligarh, setting aside the order dated
7.7.1994 passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate, Aligarh. By the said order
dated 7. 7.1994 learned Judicial Magistrate had accepted the prayer for grant
of maintenance filed by the appellant in tenns of Section 125 of the Code of C
Criminal Procedure, 1973 (in short 'Cr.P.C.'). She directed respondent no.2 to
pay a monthly maintenance of Rs.450/- to the appellant.

2. Background facts in a nutshell are as follows:

The appellant had married respondent no.2 in the year 1959 and a child D
was born to them in 1966. Unfortunately the son died in the year 1991.
Respondent no.2 who was living separately from the appellant stopped coming
to the house of the appe Hant where she was staying and also did not pay
anything for her subsistence. Therefore, an application under Section 125
(
Cr.P.C. was filed on 21.2.1992. Before that she had sent notice demanding
t payment of maintenance. Respondent no.2 replied to the notice and denied , E
his liability to pay maintenance. As noted above, on 21.2.1992 application was
filed claiming maintenance of Rs.500/- p.m. It was stated that that the income '
of the respondent no.2 was Rs.4,000/- per month. On 28.5.1992 written statement

-
was filed wherein it was stated that long back he had divorced his wife by '
utterance the word "Talaq" "Talaq" "Talaq". It was further stated that there
• .1 was severance of marital ties between them for years as the divorce was over F
by the utterance of the word "Talaq" thrice and he had also paid Mehr and
the Iddat period was over the claim was not acceptable. He also stated he had
contacted the second marriage.

3. The learned Magistrate held that there was no material to substantiate G
... the plea of divorce and accordingly maintenance was granted. Order was
challenged by filing a revision before the learned Additional Sessions Judge.
Stand of the respondent was that after enactment of the Muslim Woman
(Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 (in short the 'Act'), petition under
Section 125 Cr.P.C. was not maintainable. It was also stated that r,;)t only in
the reply to the notice, there was mention about the utterance of the word H
1-
1

952 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2007] 7 S.C.R.

A· "Talaq" "Talaq" "Talaq", there was mention in the written statement also,
amounting to divorce. Learned Additional District and Sessions Judge
accepted the plea. He held that after the enactment of the Act, petition by
any married muslim woman under Section 125 Cr.P.C. is not maintainable. Such
woman can claim maintenance under the Act and not under the Cr.P.C. It was
further held that mention was made in the written statement about the divorce
B purportedly JO years back and the mentioning about this fact in law amounted
to divorce. Accordingly, order of the. learned Magistrate was set aside. High
Court dismissed the writ petition summarily observed as. follows:

"Heard learned counsel for the revisionist.

C The learned Additional District and Sessions Judge has committed
no illegality in modifying the order passed by the Magistrate in
declining the maintenance after the date of divorce.

The revision has got no force. It is dismissed accordingly."

D 4. Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that the approach of the
First Revisional Court was clearly erroneous. There is no bar on Muslim
woman filing petition in terms of Section 125 Cr.P.C. The Act only applies ,
to divorced woman and not the Muslim married women who are not divorced.
Further, mere statement in the written statement about some divorce long back
E does not meet the requirement of law. The finding of the First Revisional
Court about payment of Mehr has no relevance.

5. Mr. S. W.A. Qadri, learned counsel for the State of Uttar Pradesh .
brought to our notice several decision of this Court to support the stand of
the appellant. Learned counsel for the respondent no.2 on the other hand
supported the order of the High Court. It was submitted that no interference
·F is called for. The dismissal of the revision petition by the High Court in the
manner done is clearly unsustainable. The absence of these reasons has
rendered the High Court's order unsustainable. ,__

6. The view expressed by the First Revisional Court that no Muslim
G woman can maintain petition under Section 125 Cr.P.C. is clearly unsustainable.
. i
The Act only applies to divorced women and not to a woman who is not
divorced. The conclusions that in view of the statement in the written
statement about alleged divorce 30 years by utterance of the words "Talaq"
"Talaq" "Talaq" three times is sufficient in law is not sustainable. This Court
in Shamim Ara v. State of UP. and Anr., [2002] 7 SCC 518 observed:
H
IQBALBANOv. STATEOFU.P. {PASAYAT.J.] 953

)
·• 16. We are also of the op in ion that the talaq to be effective has to A
be pronounced. The tenn "pronounce" means to proclaim, to utter
formally, to utter rhetorically, to declare to utter to articulate (see
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary, New Edition, p. 1030) There is no
proofof talaq having taken place on 11.7 .1987. What the High Court
has upheld as talaq is the plea taken in the written statement and its.
communication to the wife by delivering a copy of the written statement B
on 5.12.1990. We are very clear in our mind that a mere plea taken in
the written statement of a divorce having been pronounced sometime
in the past cannot by itself be treated as effectuating talaq on the date
of delivery of the copy of the written statement to the wife. Respondent
2 ought to have adduced evidence and proved the pronouncement of C
talaq on 11.7.1987 and if he failed in proving the plea raised in the
written statement, the plea ought to have been treated as failed. We
do not agree with the view propounded in the decided cases referred
to by Mulla and Dr Tahir Mahmood in their respective commentaries,
wherein a mere plea of previous talaq taken in the written statement,
though unsubstantiated, has been accepted as proof of talaq bringing D
..... to an end the marital relationship with effect from the date of filing of
r 1
the written statement. A plea of previous divorce taken in the written
statement cannot at all be treated as pronouncement of talaq by the
husband on the wife on the date of filing of the written statement in
the Court followed by delivery of a copy thereof to the wife. So also E
the affidavit dated 31.8.1988, filed in some previous judicial proceedings
not inter partes, containing a self-serving statement of Respondent 2,
could not have been read in evidence as relevant and of any value."

7. The conclusions about the Mehr having been paid and the Iddat
period is over has no relevance. A Constitution Bench of this Court in F
·'- Danial Lati.fi and Anr. v. Union of India, [200 I] 7 SCC 746 observed as
follows:

"28. A careful reading of the provisions of the Act would indicate that
a divorced woman is entitled to a reasonable and fair provision for
maintenance. It was stated that Parliament seems to intend that the G
divorced woman gets sufficient means of livelihood after the divorce
and, therefore, the word "provision" indicates that something is
provided in advance for meeting some needs. In other words, at the
time of divorce the Muslim husband is required to contemplate the
future needs and make preparatory arrangements in advance for H
954 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2007) 7 S.C.R.

A meeting those needs. Reasonable and fair provision may include ,(
provision for her residence, her food, her clothes, and other articles.
The expression "within" should be read as "during" or "for" and this
cannot be done because words cannot be construed contrary to their
meaning as the word "within" would mean "on or before", "not
beyond" and, therefore, it was held that the Act would mean that on
B or before the expiration of the iddat period, the husband is bound to
make and pay maintenance to the wife and if ~e fails to do so then
the wife is entitled to recover it by filing an application before the
Magistrate as provided in Section 3(3) but nowhere has Parliament
provided that reasonable and fair provision and maintenance is limited
C only for the iddat period and not beyond it. It would extend to the
whole life of the divorced wife unless she gets married for a second
time.

29. The important section in the Act is Section 3 which provides that
a divorced woman is entitled to obtain from her former husband
D "maintenance", "provision" and "mahr", and to recover from his
possession her wedding presents and dowry and authorizes the
Magistrate to order payment or restoration of these sums or properties.
The crux of the matter is that the divorced woman shall be entitled to
a reasonable and fair provision and maintenance to be made and paid
to her within the iddat period by her former husband. The wordings
E of Section 3 of the Act appear to indicate that the husband has two
separate and distinct obligations: (1) to make a "reasonable and fair
provision" for his divorced wife; and (2) to provide "maintenance" for
her. The emphasis of this section is not on the nature or duration of
any such "provision" or "maintenance", but on the time by which an
F arrangement for payment of provision and maintenance should be
concluded, namely. "within the iddat period". If the provisions are so ;..
read, the Act would exclude from liability for post-iddat period
maintenance to a man who has already discharged his obligations of
both "reasonable and fair provision" and "maintenance" by paying
these amounts in a lump sum to his wife, in addition to having paid
G his wife's mahr and restored her dowry as per Sections 3(1)(c) and
3( 1)( d) of the Act. Precisely, the point that arose for consideration in
Shah Bano case I was that the husband had not made a "reasonable .
and fair provision" for his divorced wife even if he had paid the
amount agreed as mahr half a century earlier and provided iddat •
H maintenance and he was, therefore, ordered to pay a specified sum
IQBALBANOv. STATEOFU.P. [PASAYAT.J.) 955
monthly to her under Section 125 CrPC. This position was available A-
)
to Parliament on the date it enacted the law but even so, the provisions
enacted under the Act are "a reasonable and fair provision and
maintenance to be made and paid" as provided under Section 3(l){a)
of the Act and these expressions cover different things, firstly, by the
use of two different verbs - "to be made and paid to her within the B
iddat period" it is clear that a fair and reasonable provision is to be
made while maintenance is to be paid; secondly, Section 4 of the Act,
which empowers the Magistrate to issue an order for payment of
maintenance to the divorced woman against various of her relatives,
contains no reference to "provision". Obviously, the right to have "a
fair and reasonable provision" in her favour is a right enforceable only C
against the woman's former husband, and in addition to what he is
obliged to pay as "maintenance"; thirdly, the words of The Holy
Quran, as translated by Yusuf Ali of "mata" as "maintenance" though
may be incorrect and that other translations employed the word
"provision", this Court in Shah Bano case dismissed this aspect by
holding that it is a dist.inction without a difference. Indeed, whether D
"mata" was rendered "maintenance" or "provision'', there could be no
pretence that the husband in Shah Bano case had provided anything
at all by way of "mata" to his divorced wife. The contention put forth
on behalf of the other side is that a divorced Muslim woman who is
entitled to "mata" is only a single or onetime transaction which does E
not mean payment of maintenance continuously at all. This contention,
apart from supporting the view that the word "provision" in Section
3(l)(a) of the Act incorporates "mata" as a right of the divorced
Muslim woman distinct from and in addition to mahr and maintenance
for the iddat period, also enables "a reasonable and fair provision"
and "a reasonable and fair provision" as provided under Section 3(3) F
-· of the Act would be with reference to the needs of the divorced
woman, the means of the husband, and the standard of life the woman
enjoyed during the marriage and there is no reason why such provision
could not take the form of the regular payment of alimony to the
divorced woman, though it may look ironical that the enactment G
intended to reverse the decision in Shah Bano case actually codifies
the very rationale contained therein.

36 While upholding the validity of the Act, we may sum up our
conclusions:
H
956 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2007] 7 S.C.k.

A (I) A Muslim husband is liable to make reasonable and fair provision
/...
for the future of the divorced wife which obviously includes her
maintenance as well. Such a reasonable and fair provision extending
beyond the iddat period must be made by the husband within the
iddat period in terms of Section 3 (i) (a) of the Act.

B (2) Liability of the Muslim husband to his divorced wife arising under
Section 3 (i) (a) of the Act to pay maintenance is not confined to the
iddat period.
.4..,
'I'
(3) A divorced Muslim woman who is not remarried and who is not
able to maintain herself after the iddat period can proceed as provided
c under Section 4 of the Act against her relative who are liable to
;~

maintain her in proportion to the properties which they inherit on her
death according to Muslim law for such divorced woman including
her children and parents. If any of her relative being unable to pay
maintenance, the Magistrate may direct the State Waqf Board
established under the Act to pay maintenance.
D
(4) The provisions of the Act do not offend Article 14, 15 and 21 of
the Indian Constitution." · r

8. The position was followed in Sabra Shamim v. Maqsood Ansari,
E (2004] 9 sec 616.

9. Proceedings under Section 125 Cr.P.C. are civil in nature. Even ifthe
a
Court notices that there was divorced woman in the case in question, it was
open to him to treat it as a petition under the Act considering the beneficial
nature of the legislation. Proceedings under Section 125 Cr.P.C. and claims
F made under the Act are tried by the same Court. In Vijay Kumar Prasad v.
State of Bihar and Ors., (2004] 5 SCC 196, it was held that proceedings under
Section 125 Cr.P.C. are civil in nature. It was noted as follows:

"14. The basic distinction between Section 488 of the old Code and
Section 126 of the Code is that Section 126 has essentially enlarged
the venue of proceedings for maintenance so as to move the place
G
where the wife may be residing on the date of application. The
change was thought necessary because of certain observations by
the Law Commission, taking note of the fact that often deserted wives
are compelled to live with their relatives far away from the place where ( -.
the husband and wife last resided together. As noted by this Court
H
IQBALBANOv. STATE OF U.P. [PASAYAT.J.) 957
in several cases, proceedings under Section 125 of the Code are of A
civil nature. Unlike clauses (b) and {c) of Section 126(1) an application
by the father or the mother claiming maintenance has to be filed where
the person from whom maintenance is claimed lives."

10. Accordingly, we set aside the order impugned of the High Court and
remit the matter for fresh consideration. B
11. The High Court while deciding the matter shall keep in view the
.., principles indicated above. Since the matter is pending since long, the High
Court shall dispose of the matter within six months from the date of receipt
of this order to avoid unnecessary delay. We direct the parties to appear
before the High Court on 23rd July 2007. We request the Chief Justice of the C
High Court to list the matter before the appropriate Bench.

The appeal is disposed of accordingly.

RP. Appeal disposed of.
D

.
"