Techie appeals against Rs 40 lakh alimony payout, Jharkhand High Court raises it to Rs 70 lakh: Here’s why

The wife claimed that the alimony amount was “too low”, considering the husband’s income, assets and her financial dependence, while the husband argued that the amount of permanent alimony awarded was on the “higher” side.

‘Permanent alimony to remove hardship’

• The Jharkhand High Court held that only when adequate maintenance is granted can a wife hope to secure independent accommodation and meet her daily expenses.
• It was added that denying or reducing maintenance on the assumption that her parents can support her effectively undermines the very purpose of the law of maintenance, which seeks to protect a deserted or destitute spouse from financial helplessness.
• The Jharkhand High Court held that the husband has a constant source of income, considering his salary, but the wife is to survive on the amount of interest to be received from the amount of permanent alimony and the future inflation, etc.
• It further noted that if both spouses are earning, the income of each must be examined.
• However, where the wife is not employed or has no independent source of income, the focus naturally shifts to the husband’s income, which becomes the foundation for fixing the amount of maintenance payable.

• The Jharkhand High Court pointed out that the assessment of income can be done using documentary evidence such as salary slips, bank statements, or income tax returns.
• It added that there are instances where the husband either fails to disclose his true income, conceals relevant details, or claims to be unemployed.
• The court, then, must make a reasonable and fair assessment of the husband’s income, considering his educational qualifications, professional background, past employment, lifestyle, bank transactions, and other material placed on record.
• The Jharkhand High Court also clarified that the fact that the wife is earning some amount cannot, by itself, be a ground to deny her claim for maintenance.
• It noted that the concept of permanent alimony has been enacted with the object of removing the hardship of the wife or the husband with no independent income sufficient for living or meeting litigation expenses.
• The basic reasoning behind this is to sustain the life of the husband or wife, if having no sufficient source of income.
• No arithmetic formula can be adopted for the grant of permanent alimony to the wife, the Jharkhand High Court held.
• However, the status of spouses, their respective social needs, the financial capacity of the husband and other obligations must be taken into account.

Marriage in 2019, harassment

It was placed on record before the Jharkhand High Court that the marriage between the couple was solemnised in November 2019 as per the Hindu rites and customs, and with the consent of the elder members of the family.

After a few days of the wedding, the couple shifted to Pune, where the husband worked as a senior software engineer. It was claimed that the wife started accusing the petitioner of having an illicit relationship with his colleagues.

The husband claimed that her behaviour deteriorated with time, and she started to mentally harass and abuse him. The man also claimed that his wife and mother-in-law made his life unbearable by threatening to implicate him in a false case of dowry demand and sexual harassment.

It was alleged that from January 2020 onwards, the situation grew worse, and the wife started arguing and picking fights with the husband on frivolous and false allegations.

Under the compelling circumstances, the husband alleged that he suffered trauma and clinical depression for which he had to consult a doctor and undergo treatment. Subsequently, the mental torture and cruelty inflicted on the husband compelled him to leave his house and reside in a different abode.

Husband in ‘adulterous relationship’

The wife, on the other hand, stated that after shifting to Pune, she found that her husband was involved in an adulterous relationship with a married woman. She also alleged that she was forced to establish a relationship with that woman’s husband.

The wife added that she realised that her husband is a person of “loose character” who was having relations with multiple women. She claimed that her husband even tried to get rid of her by killing her, and his constant abuse and violence affected her mental and physical health. She added that subsequently, she started suffering from anxiety and depression.

It was stated that the marriage between the couple has now come to an irretrievable breakdown, and there is no chance of their reunion. The husband filed the suit for divorce in 2023, after four years of marriage, on the grounds of cruelty.

The family court, by an order of August 2024, dissolved the marriage between the couple and ordered the husband to pay Rs 40 lakh as one-time permanent alimony in favour of his wife.

It was placed on record before the Jharkhand High Court that the husband presently earns Rs 2.24 lakh per month and used to reside at Pune in a rental house. Apart from that, he has other expenses and presently his parents are overaged, and their responsibility is upon him, and he is not in a position to save more money.

Deciding on permanent alimony

• The Jharkhand High Court pointed out that permanent alimony is to be calculated for the next 38 years, as the wife is 32 years of age, after taking into consideration the life expectancy of a female in India, which is approximately 70 years.
• The wife, it said, has to survive solely on the amount of permanent alimony, and pointed out that the amount of maintenance should be such that she can live in reasonable comfort, considering her status and the mode of life she was used to living when she lived with her husband.
• Rs 70 lakh would be just, fair, and reasonable for the sustenance of the wife, who has no other source of income than the alimony so received by the husband, the Jharkhand High Court said.
• The court added that the amount should be paid by the husband in four instalments within 12 months from the date of this order and the first instalment should be paid within two months.

Arguments

Appearing for the wife, advocate Sumir Prasad argued before the Jharkhand High Court that there is no chance of reunion, since the husband has already solemnised another marriage.

It was stated that the wife is aged about 33-34 years, having no employment or any earnings, and she is dependent upon her parents. It was added that her father has also died, having no income, and the mother is widowed.

It was further submitted before the Jharkhand High Court that neither alimony nor maintenance has been paid, even after the judgment was passed by the trial court. The counsel mentioned that the wife is living a hand-to-mouth existence and is not in a position to maintain herself for day-to-day expenses.

Representing the wife, advocate Ranjan Kumar Singh submitted that the present appeal has been preferred by him only with respect to the quantum of the permanent alimony, since it is on the higher side.

It was also submitted before the Jharkhand High Court that nothing had been discussed while passing the order of permanent alimony, as would be evident from the bare perusal of the previous order and in the absence of any pleadings of one-time alimony, the trial court erroneously directed the husband to pay a sum of Rs 40 lakh as one-time alimony to the wife.