Alimony Can be Granted When Marriage is Declared Void Under the HMA: Supreme Court to Hear on October 03, 2024.

Today (September 05, 2024), a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court (SC) constituting Justice Abhay S Oka, Justice Augustine George Masih, and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah posted the issue of whether alimony can be granted when marriage is declared void under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA) for hearing on October 03, 2024. It said, “This is a very important question to be decided. This will arise in number of cases.” The bench also directed the parties to file written submissions and compilation of judgments they will rely on while presenting the case. The order reads, “Time is sought on behalf of the respondent on the ground that the counsel appointed to espouse the cause of the respondent is not available. We grant time of four weeks to learned counsels appearing for the parties to file written submissions in brief along with copies of decisions relied upon. List on 3rd October on the top of the list.” 

Following a reference by a division bench in August, the bench is dealing with this issue. The case deals with the interpretation of Section 24 (Maintenance pendente lite and expenses of proceedings) and Section 25 (Permanent alimony and maintenance) of the HMA. The primary question to address by the top court is whether these provisions can be invoked when a marriage is declared void under Section 11 of the HMA. Earlier, a two-judge bench of the top court, Justice Vikram Nath and Justice PB Varale, noted that various conflicting judgments had been issued by several courts on the issue; therefore, the matter was referred to a larger bench. The two-judge bench of the SC noted that decisions in Yamunabai Anantrao Adhav v. Anantrao Shivram Adhav and Anr., Abbayolla Reddy v. Padmamma, Navdeep Kaur v. Dilraj Singh, Bhausaheb @ Sandhu S/o Raguji Magar v. Leelabai W/o Bhausaheb Magar, and Savitaben Somabhai Bhatiya v. State of Gujarat & Others favors the grant of alimony whereas the decisions in Chand Dhawan v. Jawaharlal Dhawan, and Rameshchandra Rampratapji Daga v. Rameshwari Rameshchandra Daga rule against granting alimony in a marriage that is declared to be void. The three-judge bench today posted the matter for hearing on October 03.