In Shereefa Munvara v. Muhammed Kabeer, the Kerala High Court held that a divorced Muslim woman can claim maintenance under Section 125 CrPC (now Section 144 BNSS) even after receiving matah and iddat maintenance under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986. The case involved a divorced Muslim woman who had received ₹1 lakh as matah and ₹25,000 as iddat maintenance under an agreement executed at the time of divorce. The Family Court denied her claim for maintenance under Section 125 CrPC, holding that the husband had discharged his statutory obligations under the 1986 Act. The High Court reversed this view, relying on the Supreme Court decision in Mohd. Abdul Samad v. State of Telangana (2024), and held that Section 125 CrPC is a secular, welfare-oriented provision that continues to apply irrespective of religion. The Court clarified that remedies under Section 125 CrPC and the 1986 Act co-exist, and receipt of matah or iddat maintenance does not extinguish the statutory right to maintenance if the woman is unable to maintain herself. The Court further held that an agreement waiving future maintenance cannot automatically bar a statutory claim and that the Family Court must assess the adequacy of the amount paid and the woman’s ability to sustain herself. Finding ₹1 lakh as lifetime provision prima facie inadequate, the High Court set aside the Family Court’s order and remanded the matter for fresh consideration of maintenance for both the wife and the minor daughter.