The
Supreme Court has held that permanent alimony and interim maintenance can be
awarded under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, even if a marriage is declared
void. The court emphasised that granting such relief depends on the specific
circumstances of each case,
The
ruling was delivered on Wednesday by a Bench consisting of Justices Abhay S
Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Augustine George Masih. It came in response to a
reference made by a two-judge Bench led by Justice Vikram Nath last year.
The
reference was sought due to conflicting Supreme Court judgments regarding the
entitlement of either spouse to permanent alimony or maintenance when a
marriage is declared void under Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage
Act.
“A
spouse whose marriage has been declared void under Section 11 of the 1955 Act
is entitled to seek permanent alimony or maintenance from the other spouse by
invoking Section 25 of the 1955 Act,” the Supreme Court said, as cited by the
report. Section 25 grants family courts discretionary power to award permanent
alimony upon issuing “any decree” under the Hindu Marriage Act.
Section
25 of the Hindu Marriage Act grants family courts the discretion to award
permanent alimony upon the issuance of “any decree” under the Act. The Husband/Appellant
argued that the phrase “any decree” in Section 25 should not encompass decrees
that declare a marriage void. He maintained that since a void marriage has no
legal existence, neither spouse should be entitled to claim benefits under Section
25.
Under
Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act, a marriage is considered void if it
involves bigamy, falls within the prohibited degrees of relationship, or if the
parties are sapindas of each other as per Section 5 of the Act.
“Whether such a relief of permanent alimony
can be granted or not always depends on the facts of each case and the conduct
of the parties,” the top court mentioned.