The Supreme Court of India recently expressed concern over the misuse of alimony rights in a case, stating that it cannot be used as a means of equalizing wealth with the ex-spouse.
INTRODUCTION
In the Indian social and legal structure, marriage is considered a sacred union. Personal laws have different definitions and objectives of marriage. Marriage has been considered necessary for the average Indian population. According to ancient texts and laws, it has been considered a sacrament, not a contract. Separation in Indian marriages was unquestionable, as marriage was considered to be holy since time immemorial. However, there has been a changing trend among Indian marriages. The divorce rates in India are seen to be increasing due to various reasons like domestic violence, cruelty, extramarital affairs, etc. These rates vary from area to area; metropolitan cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, etc. are 30% more than the other regions. The increased numbers can be attributed to social, cultural, and legal factors. The Indian legal system has several provisions in this context, ranging from preventing the breakdown of marriage to granting divorce on various grounds. Laws are often known to be misused in cases of filing for divorce on false grounds and expecting unreasonable amounts as alimony.
GROUNDS OF DIVORCE AND RIGHT TO ALIMONY
A person has the legal right to terminate a marriage under Indian law. Earlier, divorce was stigmatized as part of Western civilization. However, there is a significant change in people’s perspectives towards marriage and divorce. There are specific grounds for divorce provided under different acts in India. For instance, the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 has identified the following grounds for divorce under Section 13 of the act., such as:
- Adultery: the voluntary consensual relationship of a married person with another without dissolution of an existing marriage.
- Cruelty- includes both physical and mental abuse.
- Desertion: Abandonment of one spouse by another during marriage,
- Conversion: a Spouse converting the religion without consent of the other,
- Insanity: The spouse is of a mentally unsound mind, either incurably or to the extent that it is difficult to live with him/her.
- Venereal illness,
- Renunciation: the spouse has renounced the world and entered into a holy order.
- Presumption of death—no information of being alive from seven years to any family member or friend,
- Bestiality, sodomy or rape,
- Bigamy, and
- Repudiation of Marriage- Marriage was solemnised before 18(woman) or 21 (man) years of age.
The various grounds for dissolution of marriage provided under the Hindu Marriage Act have been somewhat effective. However, these grounds suffer challenges due to different interpretations and cultural expectations. Reasons like adultery and cruelty are sensitive to each case and granted at the discretion of judicial minds. A similar circumstance may or may not amount to cruelty in two cases. There are few grounds exercised by women and this may result in biases toward the spouse. Also, the shame attached to divorce in society prevents people from taking legal aid, eventually leading to an unhealthy relationship. Considering the current societal needs, there is no ground related to incompatibility that is more practical for dissolving marriage.
Alimony is a payment in the form of relief provided to the spouse after divorce in case of low or no income. It aims to provide financial support to the concerned spouse so they can maintain their livelihood after the dissolution of the marriage. It is provided as per the court’s discretion and continues until death or remarriage. Once the person remarries, it is not necessary to provide alimony. Alimony is also known as spousal support or maintenance and its goal is to prevent the drastic change in the living quality of the low-earning spouse after divorce. It is a financial requirement covering food, shelter, medicine, education, etc. Alimony can be temporary or permanent. Temporary alimony is provided for the period of the court proceedings and other legal expenses while permanent alimony is provided in lump sum or monthly to the spouse for maintenance.
No law in India has specified any amount for alimony. It is either decided among the parties themselves or agreed upon by the court. The alimony is calculated based on property owned by both the spouse, their income, length of marriage, and other case-specific circumstances. In India,
MISUSE OF ALIMONY RIGHTS
In the recent case of Rinku Baheti v Sandesh Sharda, the Supreme Court of India granted divorce on the grounds of an irretrievable breakdown of marriage. The court ruled that It cannot be expected of the husband to maintain his wife as per his present status all his life. If the husband has moved ahead and is, fortunately, doing better in life post-separation, then asking him to always maintain the status of the wife as per his changing status would be putting a burden on his progress.”The two-judge bench also emphasized on sacred nature of marriage rather than considering it as a commercial venture. Filing a divorce after 3-4 months of residing together with an added claim for a hefty amount of alimony was condemned by the court and puts a question mark on the number of privileges that are mostly exercised by women in matrimonial cases. Alimony can be granted to both men and women based on the circumstances of the case. However, the average Indian population is perceived to have less earning women than men in the social institution of marriage.
The right to maintenance is being heavily misused in matrimonial cases. One of the major reasons is the biased nature of the legal system where women are always presumed to be oppressed. There are numerous cases where women have been mistreated, had lower incomes, or had no other means of livelihood. However, there are also cases where women have filed for divorce on false grounds or have enough means for livelihood to claim alimony. This can also be due to the exaggeration of abuse or financial instability by one of the parties and due to a lack of financial scrutiny about the income and property of both parties. Societal and cultural expectations that a woman cannot lead her welfare have favoured the maintenance rights towards her. The court has addressed these issues in recent cases and served justices on equitable grounds. The presumption of lack of financial stability has slowly begun to fade. In a recent case of Praveen Kumar Jain v Anju Jain court ruled that there is no ‘straitjacket formula’ for deciding alimony and laid down certain factors to be considered while dealing with cases of divorce and maintenance.
CONCLUSION
Alimony has served as an important mechanism for providing financial stability in marital disputes. It aims to address disparities in earning capacity and ensure a fair standard of living for both parties involved. Alimony is to be understood as a right rather than a lottery. In countries like Germany, alimony is only granted for three years with the expectation that the recipient will have found a job or completed vocational training by the end of the period.The law must be prevented from being misused to fulfil its purpose. This can be achieved by laying out the clear purpose of maintenance rights. The legal machinery should strictly scrutinize the laxity in scrutinizing the financial assets of both parties. The couples should be made aware of pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements to prevent any exploitation of the rights and privileges provided by the law. The decision must be made free from any kind of societal presumptions and must be circumstantial.
Author(s) Name: Esha Singh (Faculty of Law, Delhi University)
