Maintenance To Woman In Live In Relationship 91-8877001993

Written by:

Adv Ankit Kansal

Updated: 23-03-2024

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The Chhattisgarh High Court recently rendered a landmark decision that has further complicated India's changing live-in relationship laws. Even after it was discovered that the guy was already married to another woman, the Court maintained the ability of a woman living with her spouse to demand maintenance from him. This ruling reflects the shifting dynamics of social and legal norms in India and represents a significant step toward acknowledging the rights of women in non-traditional relationships.

Maintenance to Woman in Live in Relationship: Why in the News?

As per the orders of the Second Additional Sessions Judge, who dismissed a man's plea contesting the order of the Judicial Magistrate First Class, the court hereby orders the respondent to be paid Rs. 4000 per month and the child, Rs. 2000 per month as maintenance and further directs payment of compensation of Rs. 50,000 to the respondent in five monthly instalments.
The recent case was examined by a single-judge panel comprising of Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas who addressed the issue of a married woman living with another man and her claim for maintenance under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (2005).
The court underscored the Act’s vision and scope so as to explain that it was framed with the intention of protecting a woman’s right to reside in her matrimonial home. It also made it clear that the Act provides additional protection to women against the threat of violence devoid of marriage.
The respondent woman explicitly claimed in her testimony that she was unaware of the man's marriage and his children, the court further remarked.
The High Court stated that both the trial and appellate courts had noted that the child of the respondent woman and a man was born in August 2017 and that man's name, rather than the father's, was written on the birth certificate and was not challenged or removed by him.

Contentions by the Petitioner (Man)

The man had contended before the High Court that he was already married, so the respondent woman is excluded from the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 because she is ineligible for a live-in relationship.
He maintained that a woman living with her male partner would not be allowed to request maintenance from him under the Domestic Violence Act. He relied on the Supreme Court’s decision in Indra Sarma v. VKV Sarma (2013) for this viewpoint.

Contentions by the Respondent (Woman)

The woman, on the other hand, recounted the testimony given above, claiming that she was married to a man, whom she had married on Diwali in year 2015.
She also claimed that the applicant had abandoned her shortly after respondent No. 2 (the child) was born.
She filed a complaint with the relevant police station, and they came to an agreement. But according to the man, he and the responsive woman never got married, so there is no chance that their child will be born out of wedlock.

As for the contention concerning the amount of maintenance awarded, the learned high court held that looking at the income of the applicant as a forest guard, which is considered a decent earn by the State Government, the maintenance amounts of Rs. 4,000 per month for respondent No. 1 and Rs. 2,000 per month for respondent No. 2 granted by the learned trial court cannot be looked at as benefits too rich to be true. Hence, it cannot be said that the approach adopted by the trial court which was maintained in the appeal court on this factor is one that can be said to be perverse or one that is replete with illegality that calls for this court’s intervention.

The man's plea was then rejected by the court.

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