SAHIDA BEGUM Vs. MD MOFIZUL HAQUE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Both the revisions are taken up together for disposal. Md.Mofizul Haque divorced his wife Mustt. Sahida Begum in 1967. The Magistrate granted her maintenance allowance of Rs.500/- P.M. u/s. 125 of the Cri. P.C. The learned Additional Sessions Judge of Dibrugarh reduced the amount to Rs.300/- P.M. Now, Mofizul Haque has preferred this application u/s. 482 for quashing the proceedings; whereas Mustt. Sahida Begum by her petition prays for restoring the maintenance allowance to Rs. 500/- P.M.

(2.) Learned counsel Mr. B.M. Goswami representing Md.Mofizul Haque submits that the divorce was effected long before the commencement of the amended Code 1973 and so the proceeding u/s. 125 by Mustt. Sahida Begum was not maintenable. He further submits that S. 279 of the Mohammedan Law (Personal Law) expressly laid down the law of maintenance to the divorced women and so the provision of S. 125 Cr. P.C. cannot over ride that personal law. On the other hand, the learned counsel Smt. U. Baruah on behalf of Mustt. Sahida Begum submits that the provision of S. 125 is applicable to all divorced women whose divorces were effected before or after the New Code 1973. She further submits that the amendment of the Criminal P.C. 1973 had overruled the Personal Law of all religions so far as the proceedings for maintenance u/s. 125 are concerned. She referred Case laws in support of her contentions.

(3.) In the Old Criminal P.C. 'wife' means a married woman whose marriage is subsisting and does not include a divorced woman, But, in the New Code 1973, the definition 'wife' also includes a divorced woman. The purpose of the Code (S. 125) is to protect also the distressed women who have been divorced both before and after the enforcement of the New Code 1973. Therefore, Mustt. Sahida, who was divorced long before 1973, was also competent to initiate the proceeding u/s. 125 Cr. P.C.