## Facts

- Mohammed Ahmed Khan married Shah Bano Begum in 1932; they had five children.
- Around 1975, Khan drove Shah Bano out of the matrimonial home.
- In 1978, Khan pronounced triple talaq, asserting the marriage was dissolved.
- In 1979, Shah Bano sought monthly maintenance under § 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, alleging she was unable to maintain herself.
- Khan argued his post-divorce liability was limited under Muslim personal law to payment of mahr (dower) and maintenance during the iddat period.
- A Magistrate ordered monthly maintenance; the Madhya Pradesh High Court affirmed jurisdiction under § 125 and enhanced maintenance to Rs. 179.20 per month.
- Khan appealed to the Supreme Court of India.

## Issues

1. Whether a divorced Muslim woman who has not remarried is a “wife” entitled to maintenance under CrPC § 125.
2. Whether CrPC § 125 conflicts with Muslim personal law rules on a husband’s post-divorce maintenance obligations.
3. Whether payment of mahr and iddat maintenance bars or requires cancellation of § 125 maintenance under CrPC § 127(3)(b).

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of India dismissed the husband’s appeal and affirmed the High Court’s maintenance order.
- The Court held CrPC § 125 applies irrespective of religion, including to Muslim husbands and divorced Muslim wives who have not remarried.
- The Court held the statutory duty to maintain an indigent divorced wife can extend beyond the iddat period if § 125 conditions are met.
- The Court held mahr is not “maintenance” and its payment does not, by itself, trigger cancellation under § 127(3)(b).
- In obiter, the Court urged implementation of a uniform civil code under Article 44 of the Constitution.

## Legal Principles

- CrPC § 125 is a secular, welfare measure aimed at preventing destitution; it is not displaced by personal-law limits on maintenance.
- For § 125, “wife” includes a divorced woman who has not remarried, making divorced Muslim women eligible on the same statutory terms.
- A husband’s liability under § 125 turns on statutory factors (wife’s inability to maintain herself; husband’s sufficient means and neglect/refusal), not on the iddat limitation under personal law.
- Mahr is a marital obligation arising from the marriage contract and is not treated as a substitute for maintenance “payable on divorce” for purposes of § 127(3)(b).

## Conclusion

The Court upheld maintenance for a divorced Muslim woman under CrPC § 125, ruling that statutory maintenance duties apply across religions and are not extinguished merely by mahr payment or expiry of iddat when the wife remains unable to support herself.


Mohammed Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum, A.I.R. 1985 S.C. 945 (India 1985)