Alimony, maintenance can be granted even when marriage is void under Hindu Marriage Act: Supreme Court

The top court, however, added, “whether such a relief of permanent alimony can be granted or not always depends on the facts of each case and conduct of the parties. The grant of relief under Section 25 is always discretionary.”

On the question of grant of interim maintenance under the Hindu Marriage Act, the judgement said, “even if a court comes to a prima facie conclusion that the marriage between the parties is void or voidable, pending the final disposal of the proceeding under the 1955 Act, the court is not precluded from granting maintenance pendente lite provided the conditions mentioned in Section 24 are satisfied.”

It added that “while deciding the prayer for interim relief under Section 24, the court will always take into consideration the conduct of the party seeking the relief, as the grant of relief under Section 24 is always discretionary.”

The reference arose from conflicting decisions for and against grant of alimony in such marriages.

The court also noted that in one of the judgments by a full bench of the Bombay HC, the expression “illegitimate wife” had been used.

Taking exception to this, the SC said, “calling the wife of a marriage declared as void as an illegitimate wife is very inappropriate. It affects the dignity of the concerned woman. Unfortunately, the Bombay High Court went to the extent of using the words ‘illegitimate wife’. Shockingly, in paragraph 24, the High Court described such a wife as a ‘faithful mistress’. It is pertinent to note that the High Court has not used similar adjectives in the case of husbands of void marriages.”