Latifi v. Union Of India
In Danial Latifi v. Union of India, the Supreme Court addressed the constitutional validity of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 (MWPRDA), which appeared to limit a Muslim husband’s obligation to maintain his divorced wife to the iddat period, after which responsibility would shift to her relatives. The iddat period is a mandatory waiting period after divorce, typically lasting about three months, during which a Muslim woman may not remarry. The Act was challenged on the grounds that it was discriminatory and violated Article 14 of the Indian Constitution by denying Muslim women maintenance benefits equivalent to those available to other women under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. It was also argued that the Act violated Article 21 by potentially leaving Muslim women destitute. The Supreme Court upheld the Act’s constitutionality through a purposive interpretation, holding that a Muslim husband must make a “reasonable and fair provision” for the future of his divorced wife, extending beyond the iddat period. The Court interpreted the term “provision” to require the husband, at the time of divorce, to consider his wife’s future needs and make arrangements to meet them. This decision established that while the obligation must be fulfilled within the iddat period, its scope extends to the wife’s future, thereby harmonizing Muslim personal law with the protections of the Criminal Procedure Code.
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- 2001
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