‘Has to survive for 42 years’: Jharkhand High Court hikes woman’s alimony to Rs 40 lakh

The high court added that the concept of permanent alimony has been provided under the laws with the object of removing the hardship of a wife or husband who has no sufficient independent income for living or meeting litigation expenses.

A month of marriage, then demands

It was placed on record that the couple got married in June 2018 as per Hindu rites and ceremonies at Hazaribagh. The husband is employed as an office assistant with a salary of Rs 40,000 per month after deductions. The woman claimed that her father had given Rs 12 lakh cash, 10 bharis of “golden ornaments” (1 bhari is approximately equivalent to 11.664 grams), and a lot of household articles worth Rs 2 lakh to her husband, and also bore the entire expenses of the wedding.

Justices Sujit Narayan Prasad and Pradeep Kumar Srivastava held that permanent alimony aims to remove a wife’s hardship when she has no independent income.

The woman added that after the marriage, everything went smoothly for a month but after that, the husband and his parents started demanding Rs 5 lakh as dowry and torturing her over it. She claimed that when their conduct became unbearable, she told him that she would return to her father’s house, but in order to pacify her, the husband took her to his place of work which was in a different district. According to the woman, after some time, he started pressuring her again to ask Rs 10 lakh from her father for purchasing a flat.

The woman claimed that he physically assaulted her when her family threatened him against asking more dowry. Later, the woman lodged a police complaint. She added that her never showed any interest in resuming their marital life.

Ending the marriage on the grounds of cruelty, the family court directed the husband to give her a total of Rs 10 lakh as permanent alimony, out of which he had already given Rs 8 lakh at the time of grant of anticipatory bail. Aggrieved, the wife moved the high court with the present appeal.

‘Did not consider woman’s age’

The wife, represented by advocate Ashutosh Pd Joshi, argued that while awarding the amount of permanent alimony, the family court did not consider her age, the husband’s salary and other relevant factors, including the transactions made at the time of marriage.

The lawyer submitted that the husband’s provident fund and other savings, besides his salary, also had to be considered, while the woman’s life was relatively in a very pitiable condition.

The husband, represented by advocate Prabhat Kumar, submitted that the husband had remarried and had a daughter in the second marriage, and considering his income and other conditions, the permanent alimony awarded by the family court was sufficient and required no further interference.

Husband’s salary would increase

Taking a person’s average life expectancy to be 70 years, the court found that the 28-year-old woman had to survive for the next 42 years, and the man’s salary was around Rs 54,000 in September 2024, which would increase every six months with the rise in dearness allowance and every year on account of annual increment.

Further, there will be a hike in salary due to pay commissions and promotions. The court also added that even after retirement, the husband would get a huge amount as benefit, but the wife has to survive on the interest earned on the permanent alimony.

Noting that the husband is also to survive and he has other responsibilities, the high court clarified that it is also his “utmost duty” to maintain the standard of life of first wife, which she would have enjoyed if the marriage had continued.

The high court found it just, fair and reasonable for the husband to pay Rs 40 lakh in total as one-time permanent alimony for the livelihood and sustenance of the wife, who has no other source of income. Accordingly, the court enhanced the alimony from Rs 10 lakh and directed the husband to pay it within a year.