Law of Maintenance for Wife

Under the law, husband is legally bound to maintain to his wife and children provided that the wife has no source of income to maintain herself. Maintenance is paid by the husband either on a monthly basis or in a lump sum so that the wife can avail the basic amenities of life such as food, clothing, shelter, etc.

The concept of maintenance aims at putting the wife back to the same position of comfort and lifestyle as she was at the time when her marriage existed. There is no fixed amount of maintenance that the husband is liable to pay to his wife, and it is upon the discretion of a family court to fix the amount of maintenance that the husband needs to pay either on a monthly basis or in form of a lump sum.

The maintenance rights of a woman are governed by the personal laws applicable to her, and the maintenance rules differ under Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Parsi laws.

In case of divorce, the wife has a right to claim maintenance from her husband when she is unable to maintain herself financially. The fact whether the wife is working and earns some income or not, does not affect her right to claim maintenance from her husband. However, the quantum of maintenance that the husband is required to pay to her wife depends upon the income earned by the wife, the income and property of the husband, his personal expenses and the expenses borne by him from his dependents.

The types of maintenance under Hindu laws are as follows:

1. INTERIM MAINTENANCE:

Section 125 Cr P C, Section 23 Protection of Women against Domestic Violence and Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 lays down that both the husband and wife can file an application for interim maintenance through their divorce advocate. When the wife files a maintenance petition, the court may award her interim maintenance that the husband must pay from the date on which the application was filed by the wife till the date of dismissal through her divorce law advocate. It is also known as Maintenance Pendente Lite and is paid so that the wife can pay for the legal expenses incurred by her.

Interim maintenance is awarded by the court if the wife has absolutely no source of income to maintain herself. There are no laws that lay down the amount of this type of maintenance and it is completely upon the discretion of the court to determine how much maintenance is sufficient for the wife to sustain during the proceedings.

2. PERMANENT MAINTENANCE:

Permanent maintenance is paid by the husband to his wife in case of divorce, and the amount is determined through a maintenance petition filed through a divorce law lawyer in India. Section 25 of the Act states that the court can order the husband to pay maintenance to his wife in form of a lump sum or monthly amount for her lifetime. However, the wife may not be eligible for maintenance if there are any changes in her circumstances. Under Section 125 Cr PC and Section 23 Protection of Women against Domestic Violence, the court is empowered to grant permanent maintenance to the wife.

Under Section 18 of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956, a wife has the right to live separately from her husband without affecting her right to claim maintenance. Under the Act, the wife, daughter-in-law, children, elderly parents and other dependents have a right to claim maintenance.

Under this law, a wife can live separately from her husband and entitled for maintenances in the following cases:

Ø  The husband has deserted the wife without any reasonable cause.

Ø  The husband has subjected the wife to cruelty.

Ø  The husband is suffering from leprosy of virulent form.

Ø  The husband has extra-marital affairs.

Ø  The husband has converted to another religion.

However, the wife is not entitled to claim maintenance in the following circumstances:

ü  She has ceased to be a Hindu by converting to another religion.

ü  She is guilty of adultery i.e. she is unchaste and indulged in physical relations with another man.

ü  She has remarried after the divorce.

A wife is required to file a maintenance petition in a family court which has appropriate jurisdiction to deal with the matter. The maintenance petition must be filed with the assistance of a good divorce advocate in India and must contain all the requisite facts and remedy sought from the court. The maintenance petition is filed with some necessary documents like an affidavit, documents relating to the income of both the husband and wife, etc.