Can Alimony Be Granted When Marriage Is Declared Void Under Hindu Marriage Act? Supreme Court To Consider On October 3

The Supreme Court on Thursday (September 5) posted the issue of whether alimony can be granted under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA) when a marriage has been declared void for hearing on October 3, 2024.

A three-judge bench of Justice Abhay S. Oka, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Justice Augustine George Masih also directed the parties to file written submissions and compilation of judgments they will rely upon.

“This is a very important question to be decided. This will arise in number of cases” the bench remarked, listing the case at the top of the board.

“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”, Justice Oka dictated the order.

The three-judge bench is dealing with this issue following a reference by a division bench in August due to conflicting interpretations by previous division benches.

The case deals with the interpretation of Sections 24 and 25 of the HMA. Section 24 provides for interim maintenance during the pendency of a matrimonial case, while Section 25 deals with permanent alimony and maintenance. The question is whether these provisions can be invoked when a marriage is declared void under Section 11 of the HMA.

Under Section 11 of the HMA, a marriage can be declared void if there is an element of bigamy or if the spouses are within the prohibited degrees of relationship or are sapindas as per Section 5 of the Act.

The matter was referred to a larger bench after a division bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice PB Varale, noted that conflicting judgments had been issued by various courts on this issue. The bench observed that a three-judge bench was necessary to settle the matter.

The division bench noted the following decisions to be favoring the grant of alimony:

1. Yamunabai Anantrao Adhav v. Anantrao Shivram Adhav and Anr. (1988) 1 SCC 530
2. Abbayolla Reddy v. Padmamma AIR 1999 AP 19
3. Navdeep Kaur v. Dilraj Singh (2003) 1 HLR 100
4. Bhausaheb @ Sandhu S/o Raguji Magar v. Leelabai W/o Bhausaheb Magar (2004) AIR Bom. 283 (FB)
5. Savitaben Somabhai Bhatiya v. State of Gujarat & Others
   (2005) 3 SCC 636

The division bench noted that the following decisions rule against granting alimony in a marriage declared to be void:

1. Chand Dhawan v. Jawaharlal Dhawan (1993) 3 SCC 406
2. Rameshchandra Rampratapji Daga v. Rameshwari Rameshchandra Daga (2005) 2 SCC 33

Case no. – Civil Appeal No. 2536/2019

Case Title – Sukhdev Singh v. Sukhbir Kaur