Overview

• The Supreme Court clarified that Islamic courts, including Qazi’s Courts and Sharia Courts, lack statutory recognition and their decisions are unenforceable in law.
• The court ruled that outcomes from such courts are only valid if all parties voluntarily accept them and they do not conflict with existing legal frameworks.
• A Muslim woman’s maintenance plea under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code was upheld, with her former husband ordered to pay ₹4,000 per month from the date of her family court application.
• The judgment reversed lower court rulings, including a Family Court decision that denied maintenance based on a settlement from an Islamic court, later upheld by the Allahabad High Court.
• The Supreme Court criticized the Family Court for speculative reasoning, particularly its claim that dowry demands were impossible in second marriages, calling it legally unfounded.