Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum

The case of Shah Bano dates from the year 1985. At that time, the Supreme Court ( Supreme Court ) of a divorced Muslim woman spoke of India, Shah Bano, upkeep. Shah Bano was the time of divorce already advanced age and had no source of income, since there is no social security system in India.

But Islamic law knows no maintenance obligation. Orthodox Indian Muslims (such as the Darul Uloom of ) declared then that the judgment is contrary to Muslim private law, and founded in protest of the All India Muslim Law Board ( AIMLB ). The government relented and issued a law requiring divorced Muslim women entitled to any claim for maintenance. Since then not a single Indian politician has dared to encroach upon the power of the influential Muslim clerics.

Islamic leaders argued that the Islamic marriage recognize no maintenance claims on the part of women. The Indian government gave this strict interpretation by the court ruling and overturned in 1986 by a constitutional amendment.

The case is often regarded as a turning point in modern Indian politics as it has helped to strengthen the Hindutva movement. Many Hindus began to fear that loudly protesting minority groups could get undue advantages.