Supreme Court: Permanent Alimony Should Support Wife Without Burdening Husband
the Supreme Court ordered a husband to pay Rs. 5 crores as a one-time permanent alimony to his wife after their marriage was dissolved.
12/11/20241 min read
In the case Parvin Kumar Jain vs. Anju Jain, on December 10, the Supreme Court directed a husband to pay Rs. 5 crores as permanent alimony to his wife as a one-time settlement after the dissolution of their marriage. The court also directed the husband to allocate Rs. 1 crore for the financial security and maintenance of their adult son.
The bench, comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Prasanna B. Varale, noted that the couple had been living apart for nearly 20 years after six years of marriage. While the husband accused the wife of being overly sensitive and indifferent towards his family, the wife alleged that the husband's behavior toward her was poor. Concluding that their marriage was "irretrievably broken down," the court focused on deciding permanent alimony, as other issues under the Hindu Marriage Act were secondary.
In this case, the court referred to earlier rulings, such as Rajnesh v. Neha (2021) and Kiran Jyot Maini v. Anish Pramod Patel (2024), to determine the key factors for deciding permanent alimony. The court outlined the following considerations:
1- Social and financial status of the parties.
2- Reasonable needs of the wife and dependent children.
3- Qualifications and employment status of both parties.
4- Independent income or assets of the applicant.
5- Standard of living in the matrimonial home.
6- Sacrifices made for family responsibilities.
7- Reasonable litigation costs for a non-working wife.
8- Husband’s financial capacity, including income, maintenance obligations, and liabilities.
The court emphasized that these factors are not rigid rules but guidelines to ensure fairness. It stated that alimony should not burden the husband but should secure a decent standard of living for the wife.
Taking into account the wife's unemployment and role as a homemaker, and the husband's managerial position in a foreign bank with a monthly salary of Rs. 10-12 lakhs, the court determined that Rs. 5 crores was a fair amount for permanent alimony in this case.