The Bombay high court recently ordered a wife to pay alimony to her former husband, stating that under Section of the Hindu Marriage Act, either spouse can seek alimony.
A municipal court in Nanded, Maharashtra, had previously ordered the woman to pay 3,000 to her divorced husband, who was in need of money. The Bombay high court upheld the local court’s decision. The wife is a university professor, and the marriage ended in 2015 after 23 years.
Justice Bharati Dangre of the high court’s Aurangabad bench maintained the local court’s orders from 2017 and 2019.
The woman was ordered by the civil court to pay Rs 3,000 in interim monthly support to her ex-husband, and the headmaster of her school was ordered to deduct Rs 5,000 from her salary every month and deposit it with the court for unpaid maintenance since August 2017.
The man claimed that he had no source of income and that he was unable to work due to health issues.
He claimed that following their marriage, the woman finished her degree and went on to become a teacher.
“He had managed the family affairs, putting aside his personal goal, in order to urge the wife (petitioner woman) to acquire the degree,” his plea added. Sections 24 and 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act give the destitute spouse the ability to claim maintenance, according to Justice Dangre, who supported the lower court’s decision.
