Muslim Law Board wants a Shah Bano on Shabana Bano

In the recent judgment,delivered on December 4,a Supreme Court Bench comprising Justices Deepak Verma and Sudarshan Reddy upheld the right of a divorced Muslim woman Shabana Babo to get maintenance from her husband.

Shabana Bano had filed a petition for maintenance in 2004 in the family court of Gwalior,which had dismissed her petition. Later,the Jabalpur High Court dismissed her appeal.

“The Supreme Court judgment is a direct interference in Muslim personal law. It is also against the Shariat,which states that marriage is a contract between two individuals and it becomes null and void after divorce,” said Maulana Khalid Rashid,a member of the board. “This issue had been settled way back in 1986. Yet high courts in several states and the SC in 2001 and 2007 had given verdicts awarding maintenance to divorced Muslim women,” he said.

“The AIMPLB will decide on sending a delegation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to apprise the government of its stand on two issue,the SC verdict awarding maintenance to Shabana Bano and the Liberhan Commission report,” Khalid said.

“The executive committee of the AIMPLB will discuss two options,to move the Supreme Court for referring the matter to a larger Bench for review or to petition the Union government for amendment in the Muslim Women Act 1986,” said Zafaryab Jilani,who is also a member of the board.

The meeting of the 41-member executive committee of the board,which would be held at Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulma seminary,will also decide the agenda for the three-day annual general meeting to be held in Lucknow from March 19.