NEW DELHI— Twelve persons were wounded when police in the eastern state of Bihar clashed with marchers protesting against a Supreme Court judgment involving Muslim law the Press Trust of India news agency said yesterday.
The agency said that the marchers had turned violent and attacked police vehicles in the state capital of Patna and that police had fired on the crowd when teargas and batons proved ineffective.
Four of the wounded were policemen the agency said.
In April the Supreme Court granted maintenance to a divorced Muslim woman Shah Bano Begum ruling that the case came under the criminal jurisdiction of the courts and was applicable to all Indian citizens.
The ruling sparked controversy among Indian Muslims some being outraged at what they saw as judicial interference in Muslim personal law.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 13, 1985
