Back
Grants To Wife Despite Husband Concealing His First
In a significant ruling emphasizing the purpose of the (CrPC), the has affirmed that a woman is entitled to under Section 125 even if her marriage is termed " " due to a previous of the husband, provided she was kept in the dark about that prior relationship.
A Case of Deception
The dispute arose between Smt. Monika (Satyawati) and her husband, Manoj Kumar @ Bablu. The couple married in . However, the husband revealed that his first marriage—solemnized in —was only legally dissolved in . He contended that because the second marriage occurred while his first was still valid, the union was , rendering the petition non-maintainable.
The previously dismissed these objections, finding that the husband had fraudulently concealed his existing matrimonial status from his second wife.
The Court’s Reasoning
Hon'ble Garima Prashad, J., presiding over the , observed that a husband cannot be allowed to benefit from his own . Relying on settled precedents, the court noted that is a intended to prevent and .
"The husband cannot be permitted to take advantage of his own wrong and deny
to the woman who had entered into the marriage without knowledge of the subsisting earlier marriage,"
the court held.
Key Observations
-
"He cannot be permitted to deny the benefit of
to the respondent, taking advantage of his own wrong."
-
"The object of
is to prevent
and
and to ensure that a wife who is unable to maintain herself is enabled to live with dignity."
-
"Where a woman is induced into marriage by concealment of the husband’s existing marriage, a
of
is required."
Financial Relief and Accountability
Finding the initial monthly of ₹6,000 to be "grossly inadequate" for the wife of a government employee, the High Court enhanced the amount to ₹12,000 per month, effective from . The court further ordered the husband to clear all within six months in equal monthly installments.
To ensure compliance, the court clarified that failure to pay would grant the lower court power to or salary accounts, reinforcing the protective shield the law provides to spouses against financial exploitation.
