Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that a woman is entitled to alimony even if her marriage is declared illegal, null and void. The High Court was of the view that a woman is entitled to maintenance and permanent alimony (lump-sum) under Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act.
According to the top court, the Domestic Violence Act was widely worded to include every male member in a domestic relationship. “The substantive part of Section 2(q) of the Act indicates that the expression ‘respondent’ means any adult male person who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship with the aggrieved person and against whom relief has been sought,” the court ruled.
The HC division bench, comprising of Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain and Justice Harnaresh Singh Gill, has passed these orders while hearing the petition of an Amritsar woman whose marriage was declared null and void by a local court on the grounds that she concealed her previous marriage. The couple got married on June 11, 2012 in Amritsar under the Hindu-Sikh rites and had no children. At the time of marriage, the man was a widower and the appellant, who had falsely claimed to be a spinster, was married at the time.
When the man found out that his wife was already married, he filed a petition to annul the marriage on the grounds that her previous marriage was not disclosed to him at the time their marriage was solemnized.
An Amritsar court declared their marriage null and void on September 4, 2015, based on the husband’s plea.
Although the woman did not appeal the family court’s order, she filed an appeal before the High Court for grant of permanent alimony. Her argument was that though the marriage of a person already having a spouse is illegal, it cannot be stated to be immoral so as to deny the right of alimony or maintenance.
The man, however, contended that marriage with a person having a living spouse in accordance with the Hindu rites is a complete nullity in the eyes of law and therefore, the woman is not entitled to any maintenance.
After hearing both the parties, the High Court allowed the petitioner’s appeal and ruled that she would be entitled to permanent alimony under Section 25 of the Act dehors (not including) the fact that the marriage was annulled for being void.
The high court has now sent the matter back to the lower court in Amritsar to determine the amount to be received by the appellant as permanent alimony from her former husband.
