Husband still bound to provide financial maintainance to first wife even after second marriage: HC

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Calcutta High Court has rules that a man who enters a second marriage remains legally obligated to provide financial maintenance and support to his first wife. In a decisive ruling, Justice Shampa Dutt (Paul) of the single-judge bench overturned an order issued by an additional sessions court that had reduced the monthly maintenance payment from Rs 6,000 to Rs 4,000, as demanded by the petitioner — the man's first wife.

Justice Dutt firmly upheld the Supreme Court's directives and declared, «A man who chooses to enter into a second marriage (as per personal law) is inherently bound by the responsibility to provide financial support to his first wife of 9 years.» The petitioner, the man's first wife, initiated legal proceedings under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code (1973), seeking financial support from her spouse. She contended that their marriage was solemnized in 2003 according to Muslim customs.

However, she alleged that she was subjected to additional dowry demands and eventually driven out of her marital home in 2012 when her husband married again. «While the first wife finds herself in need...» The petitioner argued that upon being compelled to leave her marital residence, she lacked an independent source of shelter and income, and the requisite maintenance was not provided.

In 2016, the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Malda ordered the husband to remit Rs 6,000 per month as maintenance. The husband subsequently appealed, leading to a 2019 decision by an additional sessions judge to reduce the monthly payment to Rs 4,000 based on the husband's purportedly limited income.