The division bench of the Kerala High Court, comprising two judges, reaffirmed that applications filed under Section 3 of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 are subject to a three-year limitation period under Article 137 of the Limitation Act, 1963. The court delivered this ruling while deciding an Intra-Court Reference made necessary after a Single Judge had cast doubt on the correctness of an earlier precedent from 1993 that held the three-year period applies to such claims.
The case before the Court involved a woman who sought maintenance many years after her divorce, nearly nine years later. The Magistrate had refused her claim as time-barred under Article 137. On appeal, the Sessions Court reversed that decision and held the claim was within time because it was filed within three years of the alleged refusal of maintenance. The matter then came to the High Court when the divorced woman challenged the rejection of her petition after a Single Judge observed doubt over the application of the earlier precedent.
Upon review, the division bench clarified that proceedings under Section 3 of the 1986 Act are civil in nature—despite being heard in a Magistrate’s court under the procedure laid down by the Criminal Procedure Code, the substantive right being enforced is civil. Consequently, the limitation period prescribed for “applications” under Article 137 applies. The Court rejected arguments drawing an analogy to Section 125 of the CrPC (which deals with maintenance) — noting that Section 3 of the 1986 Act creates a distinct statutory right, and allowing unlimited or indefinite claims would undermine legal certainty.
The Bench upheld the 1993 precedent and confirmed that any claim for maintenance or fair and reasonable provision under Section 3 must be filed within three years from the date of accrual of the cause of action. However, the question of whether the former husband had the means to satisfy the maintenance claim was left open, and the matter was remitted to the Single Judge for consideration of that factual issue.
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