'Judicial Balance To Be Struck In Grant Of Alimony': SC Raises Settlement Amount From Rs 1 L To Rs 5 L
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The Supreme Court observed that the fact that the husband is not earning does not absolve him of the obligation to maintain his wife
The Supreme Court has said that the objective of granting permanent alimony is to ensure that, in a marriage that does not survive and has one of the two spouses dependent on the other, such a spouse is not left without any source of support.
At the same time, it is clear that the grant of permanent alimony cannot be a method of punishing the spouse who is asked to pay the said amount. A judicious balance has to be struck between the interests of both parties, a bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Manoj Misra said.
The court here enhanced the alimony awarded by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to an appellant wife from Rs one lakh to Rs five lakh.
The High Court, by its judgement and order of June 2, 2022, confirmed the decree of divorce granted in favour of the respondent-husband, as originally granted by the Family Court, Faridabad, on December 14, 2018. The High Court further ordered that the respondent-husband would pay the appellant-wife a sum of Rs one lakh as alimony.
The appellant-wife and respondent-husband were married on November 9, 2008. Soon thereafter, it was alleged that harassment of the former began at the hands of the latter's family. This culminated, according to the appellant-wife, with her being turned away from her matrimonial home on January 5, 2011, after being physically assaulted. A few months thereafter, litigation began inter se the parties in one form or another.
The respondent-husband at first filed a petition under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955; the appellant-wife thereafter filed an FIR on November 15, 2011, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. Prior thereto, she also filed proceedings under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, on May 26, 2011.
The divorce proceedings were initiated by the respondent-husband on March 25, 2013.
In its pendency, protracted and acrimonious litigation ensued between the parties. In the proceedings under the DV Act, the concerned court awarded Rs 2,000 per month to the appellant-wife. On September 17, 2016, she filed a petition under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which eventually resulted in an order in her favour granting Rs 6,000 per month as maintenance on September 5, 2019.
The order of Rs 2,000 per month maintenance in the DV Act proceedings was also appealed against and was enhanced to Rs 5,000 per month by an order on January 20, 2018. The Additional Principal Family Judge, Faridabad, passed the judgment and decree on December 14, 2018, dissolving the marriage.
The High Court confirmed the grant of dissolution of marriage and awarded Rs one lakh alimony to the appellant wife.
Examining the matter limited to the quantum of alimony, the bench cited Parvin Kumar Jain Vs Anju Jain (2025), which, upon considering a host of pronouncements, culled out a non-exhaustive list of factors that a court must consider in granting permanent alimony, including status of the parties, reasonable needs of the wife and children, individual qualifications and employment status, independent income and assets, standard of life enjoyed by the wife, etc.
The court also referred to Rajnesh Vs Neha, in which the Supreme Court observed that in computing permanent alimony, the fact that the husband is not earning (as the respondent-husband has submitted in his counter affidavit) does not absolve him of the obligation to maintain his wife. It has also been held that if the wife has been awarded maintenance in any other proceeding, she must disclose the same, and a set-off must take place.
Having considered the law, the bench said, 'We are of the view that the High Court's determination of permanent alimony at Rs one lakh is insufficient. As such, in the attending facts and circumstances of this case, and without interfering with the final conclusion reached by both the Family Court and the High Court regarding the grant of divorce, we enhance the permanent alimony to be paid by the respondent-husband to the appellant wife by a sum of Rs four lakhs, bringing the total thereof to Rs five lakh."
The court clarified that this would be a full and final settlement of all claims.
It also said the amount would be payable in 10 equal instalments, with the final instalment being payable in the month of March 2026.
The bench further held that the effect of this order would be that all other proceedings regarding maintenance stand subsumed by this payment.
Location :
New Delhi, India, India
First Published:
June 18, 2025, 04:15 IST
News india 'Judicial Balance To Be Struck In Grant Of Alimony': SC Raises Settlement Amount From Rs 1 L To Rs 5 L
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