JUDGMENT - M.F. SALDANHA, J.:---This Criminal Writ Petition No. 1160 of 1992 came up for hearing before Dhabe, J., and the learned Single Judge vide his judgment dated 30th October 1990 referred the matter to the Division Bench as it involves a rather important issue touching the enforceability of a maintenance order that has been passed prior to the promulgation of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, which came into force on 19th May 1986. The learned Single Judge had before him two proceedings, Criminal Revision Application No. 289 of 1989 from Bombay, and the other Criminal Writ Petition No. 1160 of 1988 from Nasik. Both cases concerned divorced Muslim women. In both instances, order for payment of maintenance had been passed in favour of the divorced wife under section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the applications relating to enforcement of those orders were pending before the Court in May 1986 when the new Act came into force. Section 7 of the Act requires that such pending proceedings be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of the new Act and not in keeping with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure except in cases wh

Click Here to Read the rest of this document