How Maintenance is Calculated?

Alimony is a legal duty on a person to provide their wives with financial help during or after divorce or divorce in India under the laws of divorce maintenance. This term alimony comes from Latin alimônia and from the notion of food (for or relating to food, nutrition, or digestion). The Scots legislation also referred to the concept of food as a nourishing rule for the wife’s accommodation, food, clothing, and other requirements after divorce. The word alimony is derived from the Latin word alimônia.In the Indian Community, there are five major communities: Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Parsis, and Jews. They have their own personal rights derived from the scriptures, customs, and traditions of religion. Therefore, their cultural beliefs are the basis for seeking divorce and alimony. In accordance with Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, the court shall award the wife or the husband permanent alimony in support and maintenance of the woman or even of the child. If the wife is a successful woman, but the net income of her husband is somewhat different, she will also receive a pension to help her maintain the same level of life as her husband.

If the wife doesn’t receive, her age, income, and right to determine the sum of alimony would be taken by the judge. The court awards alimony to the husband, if the husband is handicapped and unable to earn, while his wife earns. Under Muslim personal law, a woman can claim compensation through the Muslim Women’s Protection Act, 1986.

Divorced Christian women are eligible for maintenance under the Indian Divorce Act, 1869. One-fifth of the husband’s income is prescribed by the Act as the maximum maintenance amount.

The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936 provides for the right of a wife to claim custody of her husband as one of the rights of wife after divorce in India, while the Special Marriage Act, 1954, governs inter-caste marriage. Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which applies to all communities, provides for the maintenance of wives, children, and parents if they do not have sufficient and reasonable means to maintain themselves or suffer from any physical or mental incapacity. Under this section, even a woman who has not divorced her husband has the right to receive maintenance from her husband.

Alimony and child support often are confused by people. However, two different types of financial remedies are entirely different. The financially weaker spouse receives support in simple terms. In comparison, child care means providing financial assistance for one parent, who has child custody. Two basic heads, temporary maintenance, and permanent maintenance may be used to describe maintenance.

Maintenance interim:

During the course of the legal proceedings, a husband is obliged to pay the wife’s maintenance and proceedings expenses. Interim maintenance is payable until the final order is issued from the date the request is filed.

Permanent Maintenance:

Permanent maintenance or sustenance is provided for under the laws of all communities. If the wife has obtained a decree for the dissolution of marriage or judicial separation, the court may order that the husband pay the woman, periodically or in one case a lump-sum payment, any certain amount fixed by the court.

Supreme court in Danial Latifi & Anr vs Union of India held that the duty of the husband to pay a fair and reasonable amount to the wife is not limited to an iddat period, which is consistent with other personal laws, where the time to receive maintenance is not limited to a certain period of time.

The Supreme court in the recent case stated the 25% of the husband’s net salary standard for the preservation of an estranged wife, which specified that it constituted a “just and sufficient” sum.

This order was for a man to challenge a high court order for the Court of Calcutta to pay a sum of Rs 23,000 for his former wife. Since he remarried and had a second marriage child, the Supreme Court has decreased the amount by Rs 3,000 to Rs 20,000.

While this is not a permanent ruling and the court will take into account other factors, several legal experts have described it as low and unfair to women, since it excludes benefits, benefits, and components like the provident fund and other assets.

However, If the wife remarries, the husband is not required to pay for maintenance. He can also challenge and refuse to pay for maintenance because his wife is employed profitably. However, the court will also give the children maintenance. Though, it is not possible to pay for maintenance except that the wife is employed, because the wife’s employment should be consistent with the ways of life of both the spouses. The court can still ask the husband to pay the amount to maintain the standards of living for the couple who, for instance, take tuition and receive a sum that will be just sufficient to survive, but the lifestyle of the pair is much higher than the woman earns can give them. However, when the wife earns more than the husband, maintenance is hard for the wife, as in the case of KUSUM BHATIA vs SAGAR SETHISC held that “After hearing of the appointed counsel on behalf of both sides, we find no reason to interfere in the contested order. In our judgment, if the child is maintained by Kumari Preksha (at around the age of 16) the interest of the judiciary would be fulfilled. Since the petitioner is a working lady with a sufficient wage, we refuse to grant any support. In this respect, the court takes into account other considerations when determining the amount of alimony. Such factors may be specific and may include: income and other properties of husband and wife, if applicable, The man, as well as the woman, The husband’s net income, is calculated by obligatory deductions, such as income tax, EMIs, loan repayments, etc, husband’s liabilities, like dependent parents, Social status and the way both parties live, Age and fitness of the two parties, The marriage span for the couple, Children’s education and education expenses, etc. Therefore, the amount of alimony or sustenance to be granted is determined by the court based on a number of factors that depend on the particular circumstances and facts of each case.

This article is written by Avani Malhotra student of 3rd year B.A.LL.B (HONS) at Institute Of Law Nirma University

Also Read: Section 13B of The Hindu Marriage Act – Divorce By Mutual Consent

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