Talaq under Muslim law requires a reasonable cause and attempts at reconciliation before it can be validly pronounced.

This is an application in revision made by the petitioner, who is (he husband, against the order passed by a first class Magistrate at Tinsukia in favour of the opposite party, Mrs. Anwara Begum, granting her maintenance allowance at the rate of Rs. 300/- per month under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code of 1973 (hereinafter called 'the Code').

2. The material facts may be briefly stated thus:

The petitioner is a Senior Executive of the A.O.C. Refi­nery at Digboi. Mrs. Anwara Begum was married to him at Margherita in the year 1973. Both the pi sties are Musal-mans and governed by Muslim Personal Law.

The opposite party in her petition under Section 125 of the Code alleged that she lived with her husband for about 9 months during which time the marriage had been consumated. Thereafter the petitioner began to torture her and even used to beat her. Ultimately the petitioner drove her away whereupon she has been living with her father, who is a day labourer. She has alleged that the petitioner draws a salary of Rs. 3,500/- per month but inspite of that he has been neglecting her. So she prayed for grant of maintenance allowance at the rate of Rs. 500/- per month.

3. The petitioner filed a written statement. He admitted the marriage. He has alleged that there was incompatibility in the temperament between him and the wife. He has denied that he treated hit wife with cruelty. He has alleged that the wife was allowed to go to her parents' house with the hops that she might change, but as she did not change, he bad no alternative but to divorce her by pronouncing 'Talak' on 10.10.76 and the same was registered at Kazi's office on 12.10.76 at Dibrugarh. He has further averred that the wife was paid all sums payable under the Mahamedan Law on the day of divorce''.

4. Before the Magistrate the wife examined herself and P.W. 2, the Head clerk of the Accounts Department, A.O.C. at Digboi, to prove the petitioner's income, and P.Ws 3 and 4 to prove cruelty. The petitioner did not examine himself but examined one Murtaza as his witness to prove registra­tion of the talaq.

5. The learned Magistrate, on a consideration of the mate­rials before him, has, arrived at the following foldings of fact : (i) that the husband has sufficient means to maintain his wife; (ii) that he has neglected to maintain her; (iii) that the wife is unable to maintain herself; (iv) that the 'wife' has not re-married; with the result he has passed the impugned order granting maintenance allowance at the rate of Rs. 300/- per month as stated earlier. Relying on 36 C.W.N. 305, he held that the petitioner orally pronounced talak in the absence of the wife and it was a valid divorce but he granted maintenance as the definition of 'wife' in Clause (b) of the Explanation to Section 125(1) of the Code 'includes a woman divorced by her husband and has not remarried".

6. The first point that falls for consideration is whether there has been a valid talaq of the wife by the petitioner under the Muslim Law. 'Talaq' is an Arabic word meaning divorce. It carries the literal significance of 'freeing' or 'the undoing of a knot'. Talaq means divorce of a woman by her husband. Before the advent of Prophet Muhammad the condi­tion of women in the world particularly in Arabia, was very miserable. For all practical purposes worn en were the properties or chattel, as it were, of men. A man could marry any number of wives and could divorce any of them at any time at his whims or caprice. Islam realised that for peace and happi­ness of a family and for protection and beneficial upbringing of children, divorce was undesirable. The Holy Quran put strong restrictions on the divorce of women by their husbands.

Though marriage under the Muslim Law is only a civil contract, yet the rights and responsibilities consequent upon it are of such importance to the welfare of humanity, that a high degree of sanctity is attached to it. But inspite of the sacredness of the character of the marria