The Supreme Court recently held that a divorced Muslim woman is entitled to recover the money and gold given at the time of her marriage, setting aside a Calcutta High Court order that had denied her claim.

Holding that the High Court adopted a narrow approach and disregarded the statutory intent behind the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, the bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh restored the woman’s right to the amount and jewellery originally recognised by the trial court and affirmed by the Sessions Court.

The judgment delivered on December 2 concerned the long-running dispute between Rousanara Begum and her former husband S.K. Salahuddin. The couple married in 2005 and separated in 2009, after which Rousanara initiated proceedings fo

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