• Alimony

Sir, i m indian woman and my husband is by birth from australia. We were married in india under soecial marraige act. We are not staying together from last 2 years and i have been not supported by anyone financially, nor even my family. I was working for sometime but mentally have been depressed all along, had alcohol issues, etc. We have lot of issues and i was open to resolve them but he does not want to be with me and wants divorce. i dont feel it would be a dignified divorce if i m not granted for any alimony. My husband already has a girlfriend and wants to get rid of me without giving any spousal support. How do i defend my case. Please help. The financial support that i seek is not to take money out of him but simply a moral support as being indian woman is still not easy to face after effects of divorce and is morally demoralising. And i have been broke most of the time and still i am and never had the intention to harass my husband for money but do expect to consider my situation and some support should be given. He is trying his best for quick, easy divorce, where he does not have to pay anything. He wants to send me divorce pappers and wants me to sign it then i can file for alimony after signing the papper. I dont understand anything and have no clue what to do. Please suggest.
Asked 4 years ago in Family Law
Religion: Hindu

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18 Answers

Refuse to agree for mutual consent divorce unless husband pays you alimony 

 

2) contested divorce proceedings take 5 years to be disposed of 

 

3) if husband files for divorce seek interim maintenance and alimony from husband 

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94523 Answers
7486 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1) Don't sign on a single paper which will be sent by your husband.

 

2) If your wish is not to give divorce to him than don't give ask him for RCR rights under Special Marriage Act. That's your's rights.

 

3) After signing on divorce papers without fighting any battle you will lose the war.

Ganesh Kadam
Advocate, Pune
12910 Answers
253 Consultations

4.9 on 5.0

 

1. If you are filing for divorce, go for Mutual Consent Divorce.

Convince your spouse to agree for Mutual Consent Divorce. Better to  opt Mutual consent divorce route and mutually the husband and wife can take decisions in the matter of child custody, finance, assets, maintenance or alimony, returning the jewellery given by  your parents and relatives etc.

2. In the joint petition to be filed by both husband and wife for dissolution of their marriage U/S. 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act (Mutual consent divorce) , the custody of child, maintenance, finances, property matters, visitation rights will be mentioned.

 r3.The reason can be mentioned as due to irreconcilable differences they have been living separately since one year, and their marriage has broken down irretrievably and efforts to bring about reconciliation have also failed.

4.The time for concluding mutual consent divorce will be 6 months and this cooling period of 6 months can also be waived off in certain cases.

Shashidhar S. Sastry
Advocate, Bangalore
5068 Answers
314 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Under law of any country, if one of the parties does not attend the divorce proceedings, after giving many opportunities to that particular spouse, then ex-parte judgement can be delivered.

Shashidhar S. Sastry
Advocate, Bangalore
5068 Answers
314 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Being settled in India, you may not be able to collect or recover the maintenance amount even if you are getting an order in your favor.

The reason is he is an Australian citizen and residing there in that country.

Hence you cannot be able to execute the court order granting you maintenance.

However this will not prevent you from filing a maintenance case agaisnt him, you may discuss with your advocate and move on.

 

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84722 Answers
2172 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

The exparte divorce granted in Australia is not legally recognised or valid in India for the marriage solemnised in India as per Indian laws.

Hence it will be a problem for ever if he is getting one at Australia.

 

 

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84722 Answers
2172 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

No fault divorce is not valid in India 

 

2) if husband files for divorce in Australia  you can file petition for RCR in India seek stay of divorce proceedings in Australia 

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94523 Answers
7486 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

See under australian law he can apply for no fault divorce , you can apply for spousal support from him and can seek share in his property as per australian law.

See since he is australian citizen filling in India won't help much so you should apply for support before the australian court.

Shubham Jhajharia
Advocate, Ahmedabad
25514 Answers
179 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Yes he can unilaterally apply and take one side divorce.

Shubham Jhajharia
Advocate, Ahmedabad
25514 Answers
179 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

This is my response to you:

1. There can be mutual consent divorce;

2. In this the couple mutually agree to separate and decide the alimony and other terms;

3. But if you are not satisfied with the terms then you can file for contested divorce;

4. Consult a local lawyer, discuss full facts and take steps.

Gowaal Padavi
Advocate, Mumbai
1920 Answers
5 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. Don't sign any paper send by him.

 

2. File an application u/s125 of Cr.p.C. before the Court claiming maintenance for you.

 

3. File a police complaint u/s498A of IPC alleging dowry harassment. It will generate police action against him for which he might have to come to India.

 

4. You have the disadvantage since he is an Australian Citizen and Indian Courts have no jurisdiction on him for his act in Australia.

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27191 Answers
726 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1.One sided divorce is common as per western law.

 

 2. File police complaint u/s498A of IPC as advised in my earlier post.

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27191 Answers
726 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

In case of divorce by mutual consent, you need to be present in court for recording your statements. The terms and conditions are pre-decided and reflected in petition. You may decide the amount of money which you need  as a alimony.

Mohammed Mujeeb
Advocate, Hyderabad
19299 Answers
32 Consultations

4.7 on 5.0

one side divorce means exparte divorce, exparte  foreign divorce not valid in India. 

Mohammed Mujeeb
Advocate, Hyderabad
19299 Answers
32 Consultations

4.7 on 5.0

The Indian Law has ample rights for the women. Your say, your defense needs to be heard. You can always proceed with filing a DV Complaint, (Domestic Violence Application) under PWDVA. For this you can approach the Protection Officer of your jurisdiction. You need to give him an application stating your story and mention abuse- since you have been financially deprived that will be economic abuse. You can also state any other violence you have faced under the hands of your husband. Annex the necessary photocopies like Marriage certificate, etc. The Protection Officer (PO) will file your case before the Magistrate. I am suggesting this option because this will get you relief as Orders for maintenance, residence, protection, etc can be passed in such cases. For the divorce part the process will be exhaustive and your husband is already on it. It will be better if you immediately file a DV Application as a remedy for yourself. If you are accessible to the internet, kindly go through The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. You will get a fair idea. 

Salome R Dias
Advocate, Vasai Virar
15 Answers

Not rated

Dear Madam,

It is better to sign the paper after the settlement of the alimony.

Generally, courts award 1/4th of the husband’s income to the wife as maintenance. In a case last year, the Supreme Court also set the benchmark at 25% of husband’s net salary as the amount for maintenance as “just and proper”. The court said that the amount of maintenance or permanent alimony must be sufficient to ensure that a woman lived with dignity after separating from her husband.

Depending on ones caste, culture, religion and mutual agreement wife has had with her husband, one can opt for Alimony, there are two types … When it's given during the time of the court proceedings, it is a maintenance amount. The second is when it's given after the legal separation. As far as the stree dhan is concerned, a woman has exclusive rights over it. Assets she received from her family and her husband's family during the course of the marriage remain hers.

The court decides the amount of alimony/maintenance which is too be paid by the respective spouse after examining various parameters. The income of the spouses, their standard of living and financial status are the factors considered. Both spouse's income, investments and net worth, as well as the financial needs of the individuals are taken into account. "Though there isn't a fixed formula to quantify the amount, generally it is in the range of one fifth to one third of the gross earnings of the spouse who has to pay alimony.

Alimony is a monetary compensation granted to the spouse who is unable to support himself/herself. Atleast 99% at time its Husband who pays the alimony. However, there have been cases where the court has ordered the wife to pay her husband. In July 2014, a Gandhinagar family court ordered a woman, Rajvinder Kaur, to pay alimony to her husband Dalbir Singh, who had accused her of physical and mental torture

"The compensation depends on matrimonial laws specific to specific religions. Or, civil laws like the Special Marriage Act 1954 and 125 CrPC Common Social Welfare Law." The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, applies to all marriage and divorce, for Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists.

The Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872, and the amended Indian Divorce Act apply to Christians. For Parsis, there is the Marriage and Divorce Act for Parsis. Shariat Law and the Dissolution of Muslim Act, 1937, apply to Muslim marriages.

Netravathi Kalaskar
Advocate, Bengaluru
4952 Answers
27 Consultations

4.8 on 5.0

You should not sign any papers sent by your husband without consulting your advocate.

and you should file a maintenance Case Under hindu marriage act and claim regular maintenance.

Court will order him to pay maintenance to you as you are currently unable to earn money for yourself. 

Mohit Kapoor
Advocate, Rohtak
10687 Answers
7 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

File domestic violence case and 125 crpc petition. You will get the maintenance. You can also file divorce and claim alimony in family court too

Prashant Nayak
Advocate, Mumbai
31807 Answers
176 Consultations

4.1 on 5.0

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