Assets Of Deceased Husband Can Be Proceeded Against For Satisfaction Of Decree For Maintenance: Chhattisgarh HC [Read Order]
The Chhattisgarh High Court in Arial I Kumar vs. Shrimati Shikha Kumar has held that assets left behind by deceased husband are liable to be proceeded against for satisfaction of the decree for maintenance.The high court made this observation while considering the appeal filed against the order passed by the Raipur family court, which had directed the heirs of deceased husband to pay...
The Chhattisgarh High Court in Arial I Kumar vs. Shrimati Shikha Kumar has held that assets left behind by deceased husband are liable to be proceeded against for satisfaction of the decree for maintenance.
The high court made this observation while considering the appeal filed against the order passed by the Raipur family court, which had directed the heirs of deceased husband to pay maintenance amount to the divorced wife, who couldn’t claim permanent alimony because of the untimely death of the husband.
The widow, who appeared in person before the high court, contended that she is entitled to all properties left by the deceased.
A Bench comprising Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Anil Kumar Shukla referred to the Supreme Court decision in Mrs. Aruna Basu Mullick vs. Mrs. Dorothea Mitra that a decree for alimony passed does not extinguish with the death of the husband.
In the said case, the apex court had held a decree against the husband is executable against the estate of the husband in the hands of the heirs and there is no personal liability.
The court also observed that the proper course for the executing court should have been to direct the parties to provide full particulars of all the movable and immovable properties belonging to the deceased so that the amount of permanent alimony, which is a charge on the estate of the deceased, is recovered from those properties because the appellants may not be personally liable to pay permanent alimony to the respondent, but they are liable because they are in possession of the assets of the deceased. The court then remitted back the matter to the family court/executing court to proceed to recover the amount of permanent alimony from the movable and immovable assets belonging to the deceased.
Read the Order here.
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