Divorced Muslim woman entitled to reclaim cash/jewellery gifted to couple by her family: SC

A divorced Muslim woman is entitled to reclaim from her husband the cash and gold/jewellery gifted to the couple by her father at the time of marriage, under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, the Supreme Court has ruled.

The Calcutta High Court had rejected a divorced Muslim woman’s claim for Rs 17.67 lakh (Rs 7 lakh cash and gold ornaments) mentioned in the marriage register as gifts from her father to her ex-husband.

However, a bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice N Kotiswar Singh set aside the high court’s verdict, saying it treated the dispute merely as a civil matter, ignoring the broader social objective of the 1986 Act.

Writing the judgment for the bench, Justice Karol said the interpretation of the Act must consider the real-life challenges faced by divorced women as it was aimed at protecting equality, autonomy, and dignity of Muslim women.

“The Constitution of India prescribes an aspiration for all, i.e. equality, which is obviously, yet to be achieved. Courts, in doing their bit to this end, must ground their reasoning in social justice adjudication. To put it in context, the scope and object of the 1986 Act is concerned with securing the dignity and financial protection of a Muslim woman post her divorce which aligns with the rights of a woman under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

“The construction of this Act, therefore, must keep at the forefront equality, dignity and autonomy and must be done in the light of lived experiences of women where particularly in smaller towns and rural areas, inherent patriarchal discrimination is still the order of the day,” the top court said.

Married in 2005, the couple got separated in 2009 and two years later they got divorced. The woman initiated proceedings under Section 3 of the 1986 Act seeking recovery of Rs 17.67 lakh, including cash and gold given to the man by her father and recorded in the marriage register.