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Hindu Law Unit - 5 Mainteance
Hindu Law Unit - 5 Mainteance
• Wife: The words “Hindu wife” used in Section 18 includes only lawful wife
or legally wedded wife if it does not include wife married during subsistence
of first marriage.
• It is often referred to as “alimony” or a kind of monetary support from the
spouse i.e. spousal assistance. Maintenance on the other hand, is an act of
bearing the financial expenses or reducing the burden of the spouse whose
burden increases and if the husband is wealthy and leading an opulent life, his
wife also has the right to be the partner in his prosperity and live with the same
standards and equal dignity.
• The status of the parents of the wife is a totally irrelevant consideration. After
the marriage, it is the status of the husband which is determinative of the
quantum of Maintenance to be given to the wife.
Types Maintenance
Three types of Maintenance available to husband and wife:
• First 3 types are only Hindus and 4th type if for all religions.
• The object of Sec 24 is to ensure that a party to a proceeding does not suffer
during the pendency of the proceeding by reason of his or her poverty.
• The party standing in need of such relief may be either party.
• It has been laid down that the object behind sec 24 is to provide
financial assistance to the indigent spouse to maintain herself during
the pendency of the proceedings and
• To have sufficient funds to defend or carry on the litigation so that the
spouse does not unduly suffer in the conduct of the case for want of
funds.
Quantum of Maintenance:
Hema v Lakshmna
• Kerala HC held that it must take into consideration income of the spouses
• The legitimate needs of the claimant having regard to the status of the parties,
family background, the standard of life to which claimant has been
accustomed to
• Legal obligations of the person liable to make the payment other relevant
circumstances.
(1) Any court exercising jurisdiction under this Act may, at the time of passing any
decree or at any time subsequent thereto, on application made to it for the purpose
by either the wife or the husband, as the case may be, order that the respondent
shall pay to the applicant for her or his maintenance and support such gross sum or
such monthly or periodical sum for a term not exceeding the life of the applicant as,
having regard to the respondent's own income and other property, if any, the income
and other property of the applicant, the conduct of the parties and other
circumstances of the case], it may seem to the court to be just, and any such payment
may be secured, if necessary, by a charge on the immovable property of the
respondent.
(2) If the court is satisfied that there is a change in the circumstances of either party
at any time after it has made an order under sub-section (1), it may at the instance of
either party, vary, modify or rescind any such order in such manner as the court may
deem just.
(3) If the court is satisfied that the party in whose favour an order has been made
under this section has re-married or, if such party is the wife, that she has not
remained chaste, or, if such party is the husband, that he has had sexual intercourse
with any woman outside wedlock, 57 [it may at the instance of the other party vary,
modify or rescind any such order in such manner as the court may deem just].
Mode of payment:
a. Gross sum
b. Monthly sum
c. Periodical sum
Outer limit of payment of maintenance: life of the applicant. Till the death.
This clause states that the court may change or cancel or modification and
rescission of the order for granting maintenance on three conditions: sec 25(2).
• Change in circumstances of the parties sec 25(3): three grounds.
1. If the wife has not remained chaste,
2. If the husband has had sexual intercourse with another woman,
3. If either party has re-married.
Distinction between alimony and maintenance pendente lite.
The term alimony comes from = Latin word means ali monia (nourishment,
sustenance) the word ‘alimony’ means an allowance for support made under order
of a court to a divorced person by former spouse.
It may also be awarded by order of a court as an allowance by one spouse to another
when they are separated but are not divorced.
Permanent Maintenance and Alimony:
On the application of either spouse the court may pass an order for permanent
alimony and maintenance
What is Maintenance?
“Maintenance” includes
(i) In all cases, provision for food, clothing, residence, education and medical
attendance and treatment;
(ii) In the case of an unmarried daughter, also the reasonable expenses of an incident
to her marriage
(1) Wife,
(2) The father was bond to maintain his minor sons and unmarried daughters.
Under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 by way of innovations over
the old law, the illegitimate daughters are also entitled to maintenance from their
father and widowed daughter-in-law can claim maintenance from her father-in-law.
2. Limited Liability:
The concept of limited liability in relation to certain relations can be studied under
the following sub-titles:
There are certain relations such as daughter-in-law and sister-in-law who are morally
entitled to get maintained.
Wife when not entitled to separate residence and maintenance: - sec 18(3).
(1) A Hindu wife, whether married before or after the commencement of this
Act, shall be entitled to be maintained after the death of her husband by her
father-in-law:
PROVIDED and to the extent that she is unable to maintain herself out of her
own earnings or other property or, where she has no property of her own, is
unable to obtain maintenance-
(2) Any obligation under sub-section (1) shall not be enforceable if the father-
in law has not the means to do so from any coparcenary property in his
possession out of which the daughter-in-law has not obtained any share, and
any such obligation shall cease on the re-marriage of the daughter-in-law.
(3) Aged and infirm parents: The obligation of a person to maintain his or
her aged or infirm parent or a daughter who is unmarried extends in so far
as the parent or the unmarried daughter, as the case may be, is unable to
maintain himself or herself out of his or her own earnings or other property.
Explanation.—In this section “parent” includes a childless step-mother.
Section 21 defined dependants: For the purposes of this chapter “dependants” means
the following relatives of the deceased.
(iv) his or her son or the grandson or great grandson, so long as he is in minor,
provided and to the extent that he is unable to obtain maintenance, in the case of a
grandson from his father’s or mother’s estate, and in the case of a great grand-son,
from the estate of his father or mother or father’s father or father’s mother.
(v) His or her unmarried daughter or the unmarried granddaughter or the unmarried
great granddaughter, so long as she remains unmarried, provided and to the extent
that she is unable to obtain maintenance, in the case of a grand-daughter from her
father’s or mother’s estate and the case of a great-grand-daughter from the estate of
her father or mother or father’s father or father’s mother.
(vi) his widowed daughter, provided and to the extent that she is unable to obtain
maintenance –
(a) from the estate of her husband, or
(b) from her son or daughter if any, or his or her estate, or
(c) from her father-in-law or his father or the estate of either of them.
(vii) any widow of his son or grandson, so long as she does not remarry provided
and to the extent that she is unable to obtain maintenance from her husband’s estate,
or from her son or daughter, if any, or his or her estate, or in the case of a grandson’s
widow, also from her father-in-law’s estate.
(viii) His or her minor illegitimate son, so long as he remains a minor.
(ix) His or her illegitimate daughter, so long as she remains unmarried.
(d) the value of the claimant’s property and any income derived from such
property, or from the claimant’s own earnings or from any other source;
(a) the net value of the estate of the deceased after providing for the payment
of his debts;
(b) the provision, if any, made under a will of the deceased in respect of the
dependant;
(c) the degree of relationship between the two;
(d) the reasonable wants of the dependant;
(e) the past relations between the dependant and the deceased;
(f) the value of the property of the dependant and any income derived from
such property, or from his or her earnings or from any other source;
(g) the number of dependants entitled to maintenance under this Act.