Women entitled to maintenance from second husband even if previous marriage legally subsisting: SC
Supreme Court has held that a woman would be entitled to claim maintenance under Section 125 of the CrPC from her second husband even if her previous marriage was legally subsisting. A bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma said the objective of social welfare provisions such as maintenance must be given an expansive interpretation and a strict legal interpretation should not be allowed to defeat its humanitarian purpose.
Delhi Election Results
Top battlegrounds: What's happening where
D-day for Delhi: Top newsmaking moments
Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) has been replaced by Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, with effect from July 1, 2024.
Directing the second husband to pay maintenance to his estranged wife, the top court said, «In the opinion of this court, when the social justice objective of maintenance u/s 125 CrPC is considered against the particular facts and circumstances of this case, we cannot, in good conscience, deny maintenance to appellant No 1. It is settled law that social welfare provisions must be subjected to an expansive and beneficial construction.»
«An alternate interpretation would not only explicitly defeat the purpose of the provision by permitting vagrancy and destitution, but would also give legal sanction to the actions of the respondent in knowingly entering into a marriage with appellant No 1, availing its privileges but escaping its consequent duties and obligations,» the bench said in an order
