One of the primary advantages of divorce is maintenance or alimony, which is paid to the wife by the husband or vice versa, depending on the situation. In general, maintenance is the money given to the dependent spouse by the earning partner to support them after the divorce.
Since there is no law that requires the husband to pay alimony to the wife; it can also be made payable the other way around if necessary. This is also why alimony or maintenance can be any amount determined by the partner requesting maintenance and agreed upon by the other spouse.
Usually, in cases of mutual divorce, courts do not interfere with the alimony set by the couple under mutual agreement, and the couple also has the option to leave the marriage without maintenance under mutual agreement. However, the assessment of the amount declared by the spouse is at the discretion of the court.
Just like how marriages are governed by various personal laws, divorce also comes under the ambit of the religious matrimonial and divorce laws that the couple opts for.
Marriage Between Hindus: In case the couple has registered their marriage under the Hindu laws, the marriage and divorce are governed by the Hindu marriage act, 1955. (Section 13-B talks about mutual divorce)
Marriage Between Christians: In the case of Christian marriages, disputes in marriages are handled on the basis of the Special Marriage Act,1954 and the Indian Divorce Act,1869.
Marriage Between Muslims: Here, the matrimonial disputes and cases of divorce are tried on the basis of the Dissolution of Marriage Act,1939 and the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986.
Inter Caste Marriage: Such marriages that involve spouses belonging to different religions, do not come under any specific personal law as they are exclusively governed by the Special Marriage Act,1954. However, under this act, only the wife can claim and the rights do not extend to the husband.
If a husband and wife get divorced after a number of years of marriage and the relationship ends on sour terms, the husband cannot refuse to pay maintenance to the wife on the ground that they do not have good relations anymore. Sour relations has been specifically held as being no ground by the court to refuse maintenance and the court directed the husband to pay the maintenance, nonetheless.
Maintenance is granted to wives who are unable to maintain themselves. The Supreme Court has said that delay in maintenance to wife is a violation of human rights. The Supreme Court has also ruled that there can be no escape for a husband from the responsibility of giving sustenance money to a wife, even if a case of soured relations is involved.
Provisions for maintenance as well as interim maintenance have been provided under section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The grounds under which maintenance are to be provided have also been laid down under the Code of Criminal Procedure as well as under personal laws.
The court can also direct a jobless husband to provide maintenance to a wife after the marriage has ended. Joblessness is, hence, no bar to payment of maintenance and this is one of the major threats as faced by the husband after the marriage has ended in divorce.
If the wife had been dependent on the earnings of the husband throughout the period of marriage, it would become very difficult for the wife to survive without maintenance after the marriage ends. This is the reason as to why providing of maintenance is considered to be of such importance.
When the demand of maintenance by a husband to a wife comes up, the term ‘wife’ here includes a woman who has been divorced by, or has obtained a divorce from, her husband and has not remarried and sufficient means refers to a person being able-bodied and having the ability to earn.
There are only a few grounds on which maintenance can be refused and these are:
The wife must not be living in adultery
Wife must not refuse without sufficient reasons to live with her husband
The wife must not be living separately by mutual consent
The wife must not relinquish her right to maintenance
