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ABHAY S. OKA, AHSANUDDIN AMANULLAH, AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH
Sukhdev Singh – Appellant
Versus
Sukhbir Kaur – Respondent
What is the entitlement of a spouse whose marriage has been declared void under Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, to claim permanent alimony and maintenance under Section 25 of the same Act? What is the entitlement of a spouse to seek maintenance pendente lite under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, in a petition seeking a declaration that the marriage is void under Section 11?
Key Points: - A spouse whose marriage has been declared void under Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, is entitled to seek permanent alimony or maintenance from the other spouse by invoking Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (!) . - The grant of permanent alimony or maintenance under Section 25 is discretionary and depends on the facts of each case and the conduct of the parties (!) . - Even if a court finds a marriage to be void or voidable, it is not precluded from granting maintenance pendente lite under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, provided the conditions of Section 24 are met (!) . - The grant of interim relief under Section 24 is discretionary, and the court must consider the conduct of the party seeking relief (!) . - The remedy under Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, is distinct from the remedy under Section 125 of the Cr.P.C. (!) . - The entitlement under Section 25 does not depend on whether a bigamous marriage is moral or immoral (!) . - The term "any decree" in Section 25(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, includes a decree declaring a marriage as a nullity under Section 11 (!) . - The decisions in Yamunabai Anantrao Adhav and Savitaben Somabhai Bhatiya are not applicable to Section 25 as they dealt with proceedings under Section 125 of the Cr.P.C. (!) (!) . - The use of terms like "illegitimate wife" or "faithful mistress" to describe a spouse in a void marriage is inappropriate and violates fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution (!) .None
JUDGMENT :
ABHAY S. OKA, J.
ISSUE REFERRED
1. The reference to a Bench of the three Hon’ble Judges has been made by the order dated 22nd August 2024 of this Court, which reads thus:
Following are the judgments in favour of granting alimony :-
| Sl. No. | CITATION | TITLED |
| 1. | Chand Dhawan Vs. Jawaharlal Dhawan | |
| 2. | Rameshchandra Rampratapji Daga Vs. Rameshwari Rameshchandra Daga |
Following are the judgments against granting alimony :-
| Sl. No. | CITATION | TITLED |
| 1. | Yamunabai Anantrao Adhav Vs. Anantrao Shivram Adhav & Another | |
| 2. | Abbayolla Reddy Vs. Padmamma | |
| 3. | (2003) 1 HLR 100 | Navdeep Kaur Vs. Dilraj Singh |
| 4. | (2004) AIR Bom. 283(FB) | Bhausaheb @ Sandhu S/o Raguji M |
(1) Alimony – A spouse whose marriage has been declared void under Section 11 of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 is entitled to seek permanent alimony or maintenance from other spouse by invoking Section 25....
Section 25 of Hindu Marriage Act is as permanent alimony and maintenance.
Permanent alimony can be awarded even if the main suit lacks a decree, as courts have jurisdiction to grant maintenance based on counterclaims in spousal disputes.
Family Courts are passing orders under Section 25 of Hindu Marriage Act while finally deciding matrimonial disputes more or less in mechanical manner without making proper inquiry - This does not ser....
Permanent alimony can be granted by the court at the time of divorce decree without requiring a separate application, as per Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act.
The court emphasized that proceedings for interim maintenance under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act must take precedence to ensure subsistence for dependent spouses during ongoing divorce litiga....
Permanent alimony – A divorced wife is not required to file a separate application for grant of permanent alimony.
The main legal point established in the judgment is that the wife, even if not complying with the decree of restitution of conjugal rights, is entitled to maintenance under Section 125 of Cr.P.C. The....
`(1) Only a legally wedded wife can claim maintenance under Section 125 of Cr.P.C.(2) Decree of divorce can only be granted by Court and divorce by agreement is not valid in eyes of law.
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