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Bilaspur High Court: Bilaspur High Court has clarified under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act that if the wife’s illicit relations are proved, she will not be entitled to maintenance from her husband. Apart from this, the High Court said that illicit relations, despite being private and confidential, can be proved through circumstantial evidence. What things has the court said regarding this matter, read this report…
Umesh Maurya,
Bilaspur High Court: Bilaspur High Court of Chhattisgarh has given a big and strict verdict in a case related to Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act. The court has made it clear that if a wife’s extra marital affair is proved, she will not be entitled to receive maintenance from her husband.
This decision was given by the single bench of Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas. The court upheld the decision given by the Family Court in 2009 and rejected the appeal filed by the wife. The High Court said that there is a clear provision in Section 18(3) of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 that if the wife’s conduct is found impure, then she does not get the right to live separately from the husband and take maintenance.
Wife challenged the decision of the family court
The court also said in its decision that cases like illicit relations usually do not come out openly, because such relations are private and confidential, but this does not mean that they cannot be proved. The court clarified that such relationships can also be proved on the basis of circumstantial evidence i.e. surrounding circumstances, behavior and facts. During the hearing of this case, it was argued on behalf of the husband that the wife had illicit relations with another person, due to which he did not want to live with her. At the same time, the wife had demanded maintenance, calling these allegations false. Analyzing the available evidence and circumstances, the Family Court accepted the allegations against the wife as true and refused to grant her maintenance.
The wife challenged this decision of the Family Court in the High Court, but the High Court also agreed with the decision of the Family Court. The court said that when the wife’s misconduct has been proved, then she cannot be given the right to maintenance under the law.
The High Court also kept in mind that this matter is related to personal life, hence the identity of both the parties has been kept confidential. This decision of the court is being considered an important example for such cases in future, in which questions related to maintenance and marital conduct arise.
