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

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