Provisions of Maintenance of Wife under Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956 And It’s Application by the Courts
- July 29, 2019
- Posted by: RSIS
- Category: Social Science
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue VII, July 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186
Dr. Shwetta Bajaj
Institute of Law and Research Faridabad, Haryana, India
Abstract:-The concept of maintenance of the wife is based on the matrimonial tie and obligates the husband to maintain his wife during his life time. This moral and social obligation of the husband has its roots in the Classical Hindu Law and later the same has been incorporated as a legal liability in various statutes. Despite the provision of maintenance of wife in the Cr. P. C and Hindu Marriage Act 1955, the provision for maintenance of wife had been incorporated in Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956, shows that through Section 18 of the Act , the specific provision was made for maintenance of wife taking note of our social values and that a non-earning wife without any means is considered to be dependent on the husband and the question of her maintenance consequential to the dependence cannot be left at the sweet will of the husband. The paper deals with analysis of the provision in depth, the judicial trend while applying the law and the lacuna persisting in the law highlighting the desirable amendment too.
I. INTRODUCTION
Mulla’s Hindu Law (Sixteenth Edition) sets out the position in law prior to the enactment of 1956 Act. The Manager of a joint Mitakshara family is under a legal obligation to maintain all male members of the family, their wives and their children. On the death of any one of the male members he is bound to maintain his widow and his children. An heir is legally bound to provide, out of the estate which descends to him, maintenance for those persons whom the late proprietor was legally or morally bound to maintain (para 544). A wife is entitled to be maintained by her husband, whether he possesses property or not. When a man with his eyes open marries a girl accustomed to a certain style of living, he undertakes the obligation of maintaining her in that style (para 554). A Hindu widow is, in the absence of special circumstances, entitled to reside in the family dwelling house in which she lived with her husband (para 562).
