In an appeal filed by the father-in-law against monthly maintenance awarded to the daughter-in-law by the family court, Agra, the Allahabad High Court has held that the fact that the widowed daughter-in-law was living separately from her in-laws may not be a circumstance to disentitle her to claim maintenance from her father-in-law, in entirety.
While partly allowing the first appeal filed by Shree Rajpati, a division bench comprising Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Donadi Ramesh said, “The fact that the widowed daughter-in-law was living separately from her in-laws may not be a circumstance to disentitle her to claim maintenance from her father-in-law, in entirety”. The court noted that it is not a mandatory condition of law that for a daughter-in-law to claim maintenance, she must first agree to live at her matrimonial home. The court remarked that in the societal context in which law must be applied, it is not uncommon for a widowed women to live with her parents, for varied reasons and circumstances. “Merely because the woman may have made that choice cannot be concluded to mean that she had separated from her matrimonial home without reasonable cause or that she would have sufficient means to survive on her own”, the court added.
The husband was a daily wage employee at the irrigation department. He was murdered in 1999. The wife has not remarried, and she claims to have no source of survival. She claimed that the father-in-law had sufficient agricultural holding to which her husband may have remained entitled, had he been alive. Arising therefrom, a claim was made for the maintenance amount to be paid to the wife.
The court further rejected the submission of the father-in-law that the daughter-in-law was remarried and was gainfully employed as ‘Cook’ in a college, as neither the factum of remarriage was proved, nor was it admitted. Further, the court upheld the Family Court’s observation that the certificate issued by the principal of the college was a mute document because it did not disclose the monthly income or remuneration payable to the daughter-in-law even if it were to be accepted that she was engaged as ‘Cook’ in the said educational institution.
However, the court, in its decision dated August 31, noted that the father-in-law was 70 years old and is himself dependent on his sons. Thus, the court partly allowed the appeal and upheld the interim order which reduced the amount of maintenance from 3000/- to Rs. 1,000/- per month.
