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HIGH COURT OF CALCUTTA
A. C. GUPTA, S. K. CHAKRAVARTY, S. K. DUTTA
SISIR KUMAR KUNDU - Appellant
Versus
SABITA RANI MANDAL - Respondent
. Of .
Decided On : July 26, 1971
HINDU MARRIAGE ACT - SECTION 25 - MAINTENANCE - WIFE - NULLITY OF MARRIAGE - APPLICABILITY - WHETHER A WIFE WHO GOT HER MARRIAGE ANNULLED BY A DECREE OF NULLITY ON THE GROUND OF IMPOTENCY OF THE HUSBAND UNDER SECTION 12 (1) (A) OF THE HINDU MARRIAGE ACT, ENTITLED TO GET ANY MAINTENANCE ON HER APPLICATION UNDER SECTION 25 OF THE HINDU MARRIAGE ACT, 1955, SUBSEQUENT TO THE PASSING OF THE DECREE OF NULLITY.
Fact of the Case:
The wife filed an application under Section 25 (1) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 for an order on the husband to pay her a monthly sum of Rs. 75/- for her maintenance and support. The husband raised a preliminary objection that an application under section 25 (1) was not maintainable after a decree of nullity had been made. The court below overruled the objection. The husband preferred an appeal to the High Court from the order and also filed an alternative application in revision.
Finding of the Court:
The High Court held that the benefit of Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 is available to either party to a marriage that has been annulled by a decree of nullity under Section 12; whether it also extends to all other kinds of decree under the Act is not a matter on which it is necessary to express a concluded opinion in this case.
Issues: Whether a wife who got her marriage annulled by a decree of nullity on the ground of impotency of the husband under section 12 (1) (a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, entitled to get any maintenance on her application under Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, subsequent to the passing of the decree of nullity.
Ratio Decidendi: The words ?the wife or the husband? in section 25 have been used as convenient terms to refer to the parties to a marriage whether or not the marriage is valid or subsisting, just as the word ?marriage? has been used in the Act to include a purported marriage which was void abinitio.
Final Decision: The High Court answered the reference in the affirmative, holding that the wife was entitled to maintenance under Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, even after the marriage was annulled by a decree of nullity.
Certainly. Based on the provided legal document, here are the key points:
The benefit of Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, applies to either party in a marriage that has been annulled by a decree of nullity under Section 12, regardless of the specific grounds for annulment (!) (!) .
The section authorizes a court to order maintenance or support to either the wife or the husband at the time of passing any decree or subsequently, including decrees for nullity of marriage (!) .
The application for maintenance under Section 25 can be made after the passing of a decree, and the section's language suggests it broadly applies to all types of decrees under the Act, including nullity decrees (!) (!) .
The terms "wife" and "husband" in Section 25 are used as convenient references to the parties involved in a marriage, whether or not the marriage is valid or subsisting at the time of application (!) .
There is a distinction between void marriages (which are considered never to have taken place) and voidable marriages (which are valid until annulled), but this distinction does not limit the applicability of Section 25 to marriages that have been annulled (!) (!) .
The interpretation of Section 25 should be in harmony with its purpose, which is to benefit the parties to a marriage, including those whose marriage has been annulled, by providing maintenance support (!) (!) .
The section's language and the broader legislative context indicate that the benefit of maintenance can be extended to parties in marriages that have been annulled, regardless of whether the annulment was on the grounds of impotency or other reasons (!) (!) .
The court's interpretation should avoid restricting the application of Section 25 solely to ongoing marriages or marriages that have not been annulled. Instead, it should encompass all decrees that recognize or declare the marriage's nullity (!) (!) .
The section's provisions are consistent with similar principles in other matrimonial statutes, emphasizing that the terms "wife" and "husband" are used broadly to include parties to a marriage, whether valid or void (!) .
The ultimate conclusion is that a wife who has obtained a decree of nullity based on grounds such as the husband's impotence is entitled to seek maintenance under Section 25, even after the marriage has been annulled (!) .
Please let me know if you need further analysis or specific guidance related to this case.
( 1 ) AS S. K. Chakravarti and S. K. Datta JJ. composing a Division Bench were divided in their opinion on a point of construction of Section 25 (1) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the case was assigned to me for hearing on that point. The point is stated by their Lordships as follows: ?whether a wife who got her marriage with her husband annulled by a decree of nullity on the ground of impotency of the husband under section 12 (1) (a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, entitled to get any maintenance on her application under Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, subsequent to the passing of the decree of nullity. ?
( 2 ) THE point arises for decision in this way. On August 1, 1968 a decree of nullity was passed by the learned District Judge of 24-Parganas on a petition under Section 12 (1) (a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 presented by Sabita Rani Mondal, the opposite party in this Revisional Application, alleging the Sisir Kumar Kundu with whom she was married was impotent at the time of the marriage and continued to be so until the institution of the proceeding. On May 3, 1969 she applied to the Court of the District Judge under section 25 (1) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 for an order on the said Sisir Kumar Kundu to pay to her a monthly sum of Rs. 75/- for her maintenance and support. Contesting this application Kundu raised a preliminary objection that an application under section 25 (1) was not maintainable after a decree of nullity had been made. This objection was overruled by the court below. Kundu preferred an appeal to this Court from the order and also filed an alternative application in revision. S. K. Chakravarti and S. K. Datta, JJ. before whom the matter came up for hearing held that the appeal was not maintainable but entertained the revisional application taking different views on the point stated above. S. K. Chakravarti, J. was of opinion that section 25 would not apply to a case where a decree of nullity has been passed declaring a marriage as null and void under section 11 of the Act or where a marriage has been annulled under section 12 and ?would apply only to section 13 and sections 9 and 10?. S. K. Datta, J. on the other hand took the view that ?section 25 is applicable to all decrees including decrees for nullity of marriages?. ?
( 3 ) SECTION 25 (1) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 is in these terms : ?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, while the applicant remains unmarried, pay to the applicant for her or his maintenance and support such gross sum of 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 and the conduct of the parties, 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?. Section 25 (1) thus provides inter alia that either the wife or the husband can apply to the Court at the time when it passed any decree under the Act or subsequently for an order on the other side to pay a gross or periodical sum of the applicant's maintenance and on such an application the Court may make an order as prayed for but an order for payment of a periodical sum can only be for a term not exceeding the life of the applicant and shall be in force only so long as the applicant remains unmarried. We are concerned here with an application made subsequent to the passing of the decree. To find an answer to the question that arises in this case it will be necessary to refer to certain other provisions of the Act which may be done conveniently at this stage.
( 4 ) SECTION 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 lays down the conditions that must b
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