The Act was passed by the Rajiv Gandhi government, with its absolute majority, to nullify the decision in the Shah Bano case,[1][2][3] and diluted the secular judgement of the Supreme Court.
As per the Act, a divorced Muslim woman is entitled to reasonable and fair provision and maintenance from her former husband, and this should be paid within the period of iddat.
According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons of this Act, when a Muslim divorced woman is unable to support herself after the iddat period that she must observe after the death of her spouse or after a divorce, during which she may not marry another man, the magistrate is empowered to make an order for the payment of maintenance by her relatives who would be entitled to inherit her property on her death according to Muslim Law.
[4][5] High Courts have interpreted "just and fair provision" that a woman is entitled to during her iddat period very broadly to include amounts worth hundreds of thousands of rupees.
[7] In Shabana Bano v Imran Khan, the Supreme Court held that a Muslim divorced woman who has no means to maintain herself is entitled to get maintenance from her former husband even after the period of iddah and she can claim the same under S.125 CrPC.