Shazia Ilmi moves SC seeking uniform code for alimony, maintenance

New Delhi, Sep 30 (IANS) BJP leader Shazia Ilmi on Friday approached the Supreme Court seeking direction to the Centre to frame guidelines for a uniform common code for all faiths in matters of claiming maintenance and alimony.

A bench comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna and J.K. Maheshwari tagged the plea with a similar pending petition.

The PIL sought a common code for all personal laws for spouses, children and elderly parents to claim justifiable and fair maintenance, irrespective of the personal laws of different faiths as a matter of human rights and fundamental rights as enshrined in Articles 14, 15 and 21 and also under Article 44.

"The concept of maintenance in common parlance would mean providing food, shelter and money, which is fair and reasonable. The history of Indian society reflect that most of the property belonged to the male members of the family and the women did not enjoy the rights of ownership and did not have a source of income of their own to maintain themselves and their children at the time of the demise of their father, husband or in case of deserted wife or divorced wife or unmarried daughters and also vulnerable aged parents.

"Therefore it is necessary to introduce the concept of maintenance in the Indian legislations through various enactments," the plea contended.

It noted that as the faiths are different, the grounds for maintenance also vary, and the vulnerable groups are deprived of their entitlement of legitimate fair claim because of discrepancies in their personal laws which result in sheer violation of human rights.