Shah Bano Case Summary And Its Impact On Muslim Divorce Laws

Women have been subjected to several atrocities in the purview of the regulations and standards of the patriarchal society since ages. Wives in every household were given the role of a being a good home keeper, a good wife and a good mother who has to stick to the "morales" of the society, while, at the same time men had lives that were less restrictive and less controlled than those of women. The Mohammedan law has been in existence since the early, but the Muslim Community has its norms to follow regarding every social activity. One of such norms is the Triple Talaq system.

This article would deal with the question of what is Shah Banocase and Shah Bano case summary.

The famous Shah Bano case is related to muslim wife’stripaltalaqhundred of years-old practice among Sunni Muslims. It is "manifestly arbitrary and allows a man to break down a marriage * and capriciously." Any Muslim man under this system can legally divorce his wife by stating the word "talaq" 3 times either in oral, written, or electronic form. Today the law has been lifted, and many are celebrating the landmark Triple Talaq judgment. One huge milestone in this achievement is the struggle of Shah Bano in the case fight for the rights of Muslim women.So what is Shah Bano case will be the next question .Shah Bano case was related to triple talaq entirely.

In Shah Bano case she was married to Mohammed Ahmed Khan, who was a reputed lawyer in Indore. Khan divorced her after his record marriage. Bano was 62 when she was thrown out of their Indore house along with her five children. Khan also refused to provide her the promised maintenance of INR 200. In April 1978, Bano appealed under Section-125 of CrPC, 1973 asking him to provide money for herself and her children. A wife, without any income, if neglected by her husband, is entitled to maintenance, also including a divorced wife who is not remarried. In November 1978, Ahmad Khan gave an irrevocable divorce to his first wife, post which, he claimed that Bano was no longer his legal wife and thus he was not accountable to furnish her with maintenance or alimony. The local court directed him to pay INR 25 to Bano as maintenance. Bano took the case know as the Shah Bano case to the High Court of Madhya Pradesh to increase the amount of maintenance to INR 179 every month. Her husband was still hard on the point that after divorce, Islamic law doesn't allow any form of alliance or connection.

The famous Shah Bano case is related to muslim wife’s and on 3rd February 1981, the Supreme Court held that Section 125(3) of CrPC solicited to Muslims too, without any discrimination. It was duly held that since the responsibility of a Muslim husband towards his divorced wife is limited to the extent of 'iddat' period, such rule shall apply only when the divorced wife is competent to maintain herself.The famous Shah Bano case is related to muslim wife's where the wife is not in a condition to finance or maintain herself post-iddat period, she will be entitled to receive maintenance under Section-125 of CrPC.

This particular judgment wasn't positively accepted by the Muslims who claimed such decision clashed with the rules of the Quran and Islamic laws. Thus the Parliament of India in 1986, under the regime of then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, enacted the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986. The primary objective of the Act was to protect the rights of divorced Muslim women.  Shah Bano case was related to this and the Rajiv Gandhi Government overturned or invalidated the judgment of the Supreme Court. The Act stated that divorced Muslim women should be entitled to a reasonable and adequate amount of maintenance until the end of the 'iddat' period. If a woman maintains a child born by her before or after divorce, then the husband is under a legal obligation to provide a certain amount of maintenance for the child for at least 2 years. If such advantages are not duly received, then the victim can apply to the magistrate for providing her with the requisite alimony or 'Mehr' as the case may be.

There have been multiple cases of a similar nature, even before the Shah Bano case arose. The judgment of the Supreme Court was also similar to the previous lawsuit. What made this case a landmark lawsuit is the answers to 2 questions. First, the spirituality of personal religious laws was questioned and (it was questioned) whether the Uniform Civil Code applied to all the religions and if the CrPC applied to own religious tenets.

Though the dirty political scenarios that Bano faced when Rajiv Gandhi himself visited her asking her to refuse the maintenance, she stuck to her claim. But soon she called a press conference and announced the forsaking of the maintenance as it was against the Shariat law and requested the Supreme Court to withdraw its judgment. The promising young leader that Gandhi was reckoned to be, fell prey to the game play of vote bank politics and bad advice. Had the Supreme Courts' verdict been approved by the Congress Government then, a strong message would have been delivered to the wrongdoers of the Muslim Community and would have given more confidence to women to speak against the atrocities that they face.

The Supreme Court's verdict, though invalidated by the Government and not enshrouded by muddy water politics, did not find pause. In many further verdicts, the Apex Court held that divorced Muslim women under Section 125 of CrPC, can affirm maintenance or alimony from their former husband and claim for money under the Muslim Women Act as well. The court's judgment has made the lives of divorced Muslim women better. So this answers as to what is Shah Bano Case and its impact.