Supreme Court: Alimony Cannot Be a Condition for Bail in Marital Disputes
The Supreme Court has ruled that courts cannot ask for alimony payments as a condition to grant bail in marital disputes. The top court stressed that bail conditions should only focus on ensuring a fair and free trial, not on unrelated financial settlements.
A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti stated, “There cannot be a condition to pay alimony while granting bail. It is well established that bail conditions must relate to the fair trial process and the availability of the accused for investigation and hearings. Setting conditions outside this scope is not allowed.”
This ruling relates to Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which deals with pre-arrest bail. After July 1, 2024, this provision has been replaced by Section 482 under the Bharatiya Nyay Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
The Supreme Court overturned a Patna trial court’s decision, which was supported by the high court in July 2023. The trial court had directed a man to pay ₹4,000 per month to his wife as a condition for getting bail in a case filed under Section 498A of the IPC.
The case involved a petitioner who claimed he was kidnapped and forced into marriage in May 2022. His lawyer, Fauzia Shakil, argued that asking for alimony as a bail condition was illegal. She referred to a 2009 Supreme Court decision (Munish Bhasin case) that had already clarified that irrelevant conditions cannot be added while granting bail.
The Bihar government, represented by advocate Anshul Narayan, opposed the petitioner’s claims, stating that he had agreed to pay voluntarily. However, the Supreme Court found that forcing alimony payment as part of bail was outside the court’s authority.
The Court explained, “When granting bail, courts should only impose conditions that ensure the accused remains available for the trial and does not run from justice. Asking for maintenance payments has nothing to do with these goals and is therefore unwarranted.”
With this, the Supreme Court canceled the ₹4,000 maintenance condition and asked the trial court to impose appropriate conditions strictly according to the law.
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