FAMILY LAW-II
MUSLIM
LAWS:
The Muslim Women (Protection of
Rights on Divorce) Act was a controversially
named landmark legislation passed by the parliament of India in 1986 to
allegedly protect the rights of Muslim women who have been divorced by, or have
obtained divorce from, their husbands and to provide for matters connected
therewith or incidental thereto. The Act was passed by the Rajiv Gandhi government
to nullify the decision in Shah Bano case.[1][2][3]
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 divorcees the right to alimony from their former husbands.
The Supreme Court has held that in the case
of divorce, a Muslim husband is under an obligation to maintain his wife under
the personal law, i.e. the Shariat, the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 and the
Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986.[4]
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on
Divorce) Act, 1986 protects a Muslim woman’s rights in divorce; Section 3 of
this Act provides that Mahr and other properties of a Muslim woman are to be
given to her at the time of divorce.[5] It
entitles a Muslim woman to;
·
Reasonable and fair amount of maintenance
during Iddat period
·
Where she herself maintains the children
born to her before or after the divorce, a reasonable and fair provision and
maintenance is to be paid by the former husband for a period of 2 years from
the dates of birth of such children;
·
An amount equal to the sum of mahr or dower
which was agreed upon at the time of marriage;
·
All gifts and other properties given to her
at the time, during or after the marriage.
Also, section 4 of this act provides that
if a divorced woman is unable to maintain herself after the iddat period, then
her relatives who are entitled to inherit her property on her death as per
Muslim Law, may be ordered by a magistrate to maintain her.
MOTHERS:
·
In case of divorce or widowhood, she is
entitled to maintenance from her children.
·
Her property is to be divided according to
the rules of Muslim law.
·
She is entitled to inherit one sixth of her
deceased child’s estate.
PARSI LAWS:
The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936
recognizes the right of wife to maintenance-both alimony pendente lite and
permanent alimony. The maximum amount that can be decreed by court as alimony
during the time a matrimonial suit is pending in court, is one-fifth of the
husband's net income. In fixing the quantum as permanent maintenance, the court
will determine what is just, bearing in mind the ability of husband to pay, the
wife's own assets and conduct of the parties. The order will remain in force as
long as wife remains chaste and unmarried.
CHRISTIAN
LAWS:
As for Christian marriage laws, if a
divorced Christian wife cannot support herself in the post-divorce period under
Section 37 of the Indian Divorce Act, 1869, she can apply for alimony/
maintenance in a civil court or High Court and, husband will be liable to pay
her alimony such sum, as the court may order, till her lifetime.
Sensitization on a large scale about the
legal rights of a wife, are of paramount importance if the above laws are to
show results in the scale they were designed to. Our objective at Abhilasha is
thus, not only to inform women about the protections available to them under
law, but to also encourage them to waste no time in availing them.[6]
DAUGHTERS:
·
She inherits equally with any brothers and
sisters to her father’s estate or her mother’s.
·
Entitled to shelter, maintenance before marriage,
but not after, from her parents.
·
Full rights over her personal liberty, upon
attaining majority. Until then, her natural guardian is her father.
WIVES:
·
She is entitled to maintenance, from her
husband, but his failure to provide the same is not, by itself ground for
divorce.
·
Upon death of her husband, she is entitled
to a one third share of his property, the rest being divided among the children
equally.
·
She must inherit a minimum of Rs.5000/-
from her husband’s estate, supposing the estate is more than this amount. In
case it is not, she may inherit the whole.
MOTHERS:
She is not entitled to maintenance from her
children. In case any of her children dies without spouse or living children,
she may inherit one fourth of the assets.
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