Chhattisgarh HC: No Maintenance to Wife if Divorce Granted on Grounds of Adultery
The Chhattisgarh High Court has ruled that a wife who is divorced on the ground of adultery is not entitled to maintenance from her ex-husband. The Court dismissed a woman’s review petition seeking higher maintenance and also quashed the earlier order of ₹4,000 monthly maintenance granted by the family court.
The ruling came in review petitions filed by a Raipur-based computer operator and his ex-wife. The family court had earlier directed the man to pay ₹4,000 per month to his ex-wife, but both challenged the order—the man argued that his wife was living in adultery, while the woman sought to increase the amount to ₹20,000.
The man told the Court that his ex-wife had an adulterous relationship with his younger brother, which was proven before the lower court. He argued that under Section 125(4) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), a wife living in adultery is not entitled to claim maintenance. He also said the family court failed to consider his actual income, which was only ₹17,131 per month, unlike the woman’s claim that he earned over ₹1 lakh from job, rent, and farming.
The woman, however, contended that there is a difference between “living in adultery” and “once living in adultery” or having a short-term extramarital affair. She alleged her husband inflicted mental cruelty and that her in-laws harassed her over domestic issues.
Despite her claims, the High Court noted that the family court had already granted divorce in 2023 under the Hindu Marriage Act on the ground of adultery. Justice Arvind Kumar Verma held that this decree was sufficient proof of the wife’s adulterous conduct.
“The decree for divorce granted by the family court in favour of the husband is sufficient proof that the wife was living in adultery. Once such a decree is in force, this Court cannot take a contrary view,” the High Court observed.
Accordingly, the Court set aside the family court’s maintenance order and dismissed the woman’s plea.
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