Indian Courts have been trying to break the stereotypes and shackles of patriarchy from the system, slowly and steadily.
Recently on what can be said as a rare occasion, the Hon’ble Bombay High Court in a case[1] observed that Sections 24 and 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act,1955 confer the right to the needy spouse to seek alimony, both interim and permanent even after the decree of restitution or divorce has been passed.
Key observations of the Court with regard to Sections 24 & 25 of the 1955 Act were: -
1. That the conjoint reading of both the provisions reveals that they are enabling provisions and confer a right to seek interim (pendente lite) or permanent maintenance on the needy spouse.
2. This right can be exercised by filing an application to any court exercising jurisdiction under this Act (mentioned u/s 9-13 of the 1955 Act), whether at the time of passing the decree or any time subsequent thereto.
3. The term ‘subsequent hereto’ cannot be made redundant by taking a constricted interpretation of the terms ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ u/s 25. More so, (2) & (3) of Sec 25 empower the courts to vary, rescind or modify the amount of alimony based on the grounds mentioned therein. Section 25 is not only restricted to a decree of divorce, but the decree can also be for restitution of conjugal rights under Section 9, the decree can also be for judicial separation under Section 10 or the decree can also be for divorce under Section 13 or the decree can also be for a divorce by mutual consent under Section 13B.
4. Relying upon the observations of the Apex Court in Chand Dhawan v. Jawaharlal Dhawan[2], it was observed that the provisions provide for the destitute spouse and that they have to be construed widely so as to salvage the remedial entailments.
Therefore, making it amply clear that the maintenance can be sought by either husband or wife, and that it can be sought at any stage even after the decree of divorce has been passed.
[1] Bhagyashri vs Jagdish 2022
[2] (1993) 3 SCC 406