1. Thank you for the reference.
2. I differ to the opinion of Mr. Justc. in this citation;
A divorced Muslim woman's right to claim maintenance under S. 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code did “extinguished” if her husband has pronounced 'Talaq".
The pronouncement of "Talaq" remained valid only if attempts for reconciliation by two arbitrators in terms of Islamic laws were made before such pronouncement.
If such efforts for reconciliation failed, it shall be decided that there had been a “reasonable cause” for such divorce.
The reasonableness of such substantive cause for divorce could not be justifiable by a Court.
It is still assumed in the absence of Uniform Civil Laws that a Muslim man could unilaterally end his marriage by pronouncing "Talaq" without the intervention of a court.
This provision is arbitrary. Though it might offend the notion of gender justice, such practice was well settled in the country. Such a divorce was considered perfectly valid.
The Hon'ble SC [sicne Shah Bano] case did not appear to have addressed the issue so far. The obligation of hapless Muslim women to suffer polygamy and arbitrary termination of marriage by pronouncing "Talaq" without court intervention appeared to offend the fundamental rights guaranteed under the very Constitution.
The issues could not be pushed under the carpet by the legislature or the constitutional courts. The Shah Bano case (1985 AIR 945, 1985 SCC (2) 556) was a controversial divorce lawsuit in India, in which Shah Bano, a 62-year-old Muslim woman and mother of five from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, was divorced by her husband in 1978 and was subsequently denied alimony.
The case created considerable debate and controversy about the extent of having different civil codes for different religions, especially for Muslims in India.
This case caused the Rajiv Gandhi government, with its absolute majority, to pass the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 which diluted the secular judgment of the Supreme Court and, in reality, denied even utterly destitute Muslim divorcées the right to alimony from their former husbands.
All these issues would have to be addressed by the secular State. Hence a side question arise to prudent minds - Is India a secular State? What is secularism definition in relation to India?
