Women Entitled To Maintenance Even After Divorce: Bombay High Court

An order passed by a single bench of Justice RG Avachat during a sessions court directed a man to pay Rs. 6000 to his divorced wife every month. As per the plea, the man and woman got married in May 2013, but soon started living separately due to matrimonial disputes and later got divorced.

During the divorce proceedings, the woman had sought maintenance under the DV Act (Domestic Violence). The family court had rejected her application, following which she approached the sessions court with her plea. The man in his petition to the High Court claimed that they are no longer in any marital relationship and all the arrears of maintenance were cleared by the date of the dissolution of marriage.

The woman opposed the petition saying that provisions of the DV Act ensure that a wife, even after obtaining a divorce was entitled to claim maintenance and other ancillary reliefs. The sessions court ruled in her favour.

The High Court, in its order, noted the definition of ‘domestic relationship’ as a relationship between two persons who live, or have lived at any point in the past, together in a household, when they were related by consanguinity or through a relationship in nature of marriage.