• Alimony for less than 1 year marriage

I got married in April 2022. After about 9 months I came to know that she is mentally ill which was not disclosed at the time of marriage and I decided to file for divorce. She is an Engineering graduate, not sure if she is working now. She is asking for alimoney for divorce. Question is if she is actually eligible for alimoney since I got cheated?
Asked 17 days ago in Family Law
Religion: Christian

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10 Answers

She suppressed the material information for marriage hence you have filed the divorce case is totally a different subject to that of the maintenance that she claims now.

As your legally wedded wife, she would be eligible for maintenance from you if she is not having any source of income to sustain her expenses. You may have to prove her employment and other sources of income while repudiating the maintenance claim made by her

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
87029 Answers
2337 Consultations

1. You should file a petition praying for annulment of marriage on the ground that consent for marriage was availed by the bride & her parents  suppressing the vital fact that the bride is suffering from mental ailment and had the said fact been made known to you, consent for marriage would not have been given by you.

 

2. In case of annulment of marriage petition, the marriage it self is annulled and there is no question of paying any alimony or maintenance in this case.

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27453 Answers
726 Consultations

File for annulment of marriage on grounds of fraud as wife has suppressed her mental illness 

 

2) enclose evidence you have that wife was mentally ill at that moment of her marriage 

 

3) she is not entitled to alimony 

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
96829 Answers
7811 Consultations

 

Take the plea that wife is highly qualified and has worked in past and is not entitled to any alimony 

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
96829 Answers
7811 Consultations

a highly educated wife can claim maintenance if she doesn't have enough independent income. The courts will evaluate her financial situation and lifestyle. However, a wife cannot be entitled to maintenance if she is well-qualified and earning, and is not making a sincere effort to earn a living. 

In a recent judgment by Delhi high court, the court observed that  the wife cannot act or force the husband to milk out cash in favour of the wife.

Under section 125(4), No wife shall be entitled to receive an [allowance for the maintenance or the interim maintenance and expenses of proceeding, as the case may be,] from her husband under this section if she is living in adultery, or if, without any sufficient reason, she refuses to live with her husband, or if they are living.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
87029 Answers
2337 Consultations

1. There are several Judgements stating that wives capable of earning are not entitled to maintenance from their husbands.

 

2. However, in your case, filing of annulment case will seal the chance of her seeking maintenance from you.

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27453 Answers
726 Consultations

1. Mere education qualification is not enough to deny maintenance.

2. Unless and until you prove her present employment, i regret you can not avoid maintenance. Duration of marriage is also not a parameter to determine maintenance.  

Devajyoti Barman
Advocate, Kolkata
23201 Answers
511 Consultations

- If she was suffering from the said disease before the marriage , and concealed the same from you at the time of marriage , then this marriage can be declared invalid after filing a Declaration suit before the family Court. 

- Further, as per law, A well qualified wife, who is having the earning capability & capacity, but desirous of remaining idle, is not entitled to claim any maintenance from her husband. 

- Hence, you can produce the proofs of her education before the Court against her for the demand of maintenance/alimony. 

Mohammed Shahzad
Advocate, Delhi
14440 Answers
221 Consultations

Dear Client,

In the Present Scenario, you got married in April 2022, and after about 9 months, you came to know that your wife is mentally ill, that was not disclosed at the time of marriage. And hence, you decided to file for divorce. However, your wife is an engineering graduate, but not sure if working or not, and now is asking alimony for divorce. Herein, taking into consideration the Hindu Marriage Act, it is to the discretion of the court to grant alimony to either party. However, the amount of alimony would be determined on the basis of financial status of both of you, the duration of the marriage and the needs of your wife. If you can however, prove that the mental illness information was not disclosed to you at the time of marriage, you may be granted a divorce. Though your wife is an engineering graduate, her employment status would be taken as a primary factor to determine the alimony amount. But, the non-disclosure of such information, would not automatically dis-entitle her from receiving alimony.

Hope you find this answer beneficial for resolving the dispute.

Anik Miu
Advocate, Bangalore
10124 Answers
119 Consultations

These cases are very common in various Courts of India. I can understand your concern in this regard. My team has dealt with various disputes of such nature. They say marriages are made in heaven. But so is thunder and lightning. At times, despite our best efforts, life takes a turn for the worst. We may have wanted different things from life, but life’s got its own plan as well. A bad marriage is something which nobody hopes for, but at times, that’s exactly what we are given and forced to face head on. Marriage does not guarantee that you will be together forever, it’s only paper. It takes love, respect, trust, faith, understanding and friendship in your relationship to make it last forever.

At the outset, it is crucial here to mention that you should have filed for annulment of marriage on the ground that she is mentally ill.

 

Section 12 of the Hindu Marriage Act states that:-

(1) Any marriage solemnised, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, shall be voidable and may be annulled by a decree of nullity on any of the following grounds, namely:

(a) that the marriage has not been consummated owing to the impotence of the respondent; or

(b)that the marriage is in contravention of the condition specified in clause (ii) of section 5; or

(c)that the consent of the petitioner, or where the consent of the guardian in marriage of the petitioner was required under section 5 as it stood immediately before the commencement of the Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act, 1978 (2 of 1978), the consent of such guardian was obtained by force or by fraud as to the nature of the ceremony or as to any material fact or circumstance concerning the respondent; or

(d)that the respondent was at the time of the marriage pregnant by some person other than the petitioner.

 

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), no petition for annulling a marriage—

(a) on the ground specified in clause (c) of sub-section (1) shall be entertained if—

(i) the petition is presented more than one year after the force had ceased to operate or, as the case may be, the fraud had been discovered; or (ii) the petitioner has, with his or her full consent, lived with the other party to the marriage as husband or wife after the force had ceased to operate or, as the case may be, the fraud had been discovered;

 

Please note that Section 12 (1) (c) is applicable in your case as your consent was obtained by fraud and the material fact i.e. she is mentally ill was suppressed from you and as per sub section (2) the petition has to be filed within one year of discovery of fraud.

 

Supreme Court in case of Kollam Chandra Sekhar v, Kollam Padma Latha, (2014) 1 SCC 225, by relying on the testimony of a doctor that Schizophrenia “is a treatable, manageable disease, which can be put on a par with hypertension and diabetes.”

In another case, Sharda v. Dharampal, (2003) 4 SCC 493, the Court observed that “but it is another thing to say that a party may be asked to submit himself to a psychiatrist or a psychoanalyst so as to enable the Court to arrive at a just conclusion. Whether the party to the marriage requires a treatment or not can be found out only in the event, he is examined by a properly qualified Psychiatrist.”

 

Therefore, your wife would be asked to submit the proof of mental illness. As stated above that since the fraud is committed by her, therefore, she is not eligible for any alimony amount, however, detailed discussion is required in such cases with complete documents. You may contact my secretary to connect with me for clarification.

Shri Gopal Verma
Advocate, Delhi
385 Answers
12 Consultations

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