A Hindu has a personal obligation
to maintain his wife. A wife’s right to
maintenance may arise in the following three situations:
(A) When
the wife lives with her husband- section 18(1) of the Hindu Adoption and
Maintenance Act states that: Subject to the provisions of this section, a Hindu
wife, whether married before or after the commencement of this Act, shall be
entitled to be maintained by her husband during her life time.
(B) When
the wife lives separately from her husband (not under a decree of court)-
section 18(2) of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act provides that, A Hindu
wife shall be entitled to live separately from her husband without forfeiting
her claim to maintenance- (a) if he is guilty of desertion, that is to say, of
abandoning her without reasonable cause and without her consent or against her
wish, or wilfully neglecting her; (b) if he has treated her with such cruelty
as to cause a reasonable apprehension in her mind that it will be harmful or
injurious to live with her husband; (c) if he is suffering from a virulent form
of leprosy; (a) if he has any other wife living; (e) if he keeps a concubine in
the same house in which his wife is living or habitually resides with a
concubine elsewhere; (f) if he has ceased to be a Hindu by conversion to
another religion; (g) if there is any other cause justifying her living
separately.
(C) When
the wife lives separately under a decree of court (judicial separation) or when
the marriage is dissolved. Sections 24 and 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act deal
with the provisions of maintenance pendent lite and permanent alimony and
maintenance.
A wife loses her claim to
separate residence and maintenance if she is unchaste, has renounced religion
or has started cohabitating with her husband[1].
[1]
Section 18(3) of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act: A Hindu wife shall not
be entitled to separate residence and maintenance from her husband if she is
unchaste or ceases to be a Hindu by conversion to another religion.
