Alimony in India
Though alimony is a very important matter to deal with during the
litigation of a divorce case, the very perception of right to claim the
financial support for post divorce maintenance was not quite a familiar concept
among the Indian divorce seekers, especially women few years back. Since the
rate of divorce is increasing in India at a rapid speed, people are becoming
aware of the various details related to divorce laws. The era of feminist
campaigns and spread of education among women, have contributed to the growing
applicability of alimony in divorce cases.
The alimony or the spouse support is an obligation by laws in
almost all the countries of the world. It is expected that both the spouses
irrespective of gender must bear the maintenance support during and after
marriage.
The concept of alimony came in vogue due to the indissolubility
nature of marriage. According to marriage conventions, marriage is a sacred
union. Once the knot is tied, the duties and obligations of marriage are to be
carried out for the rest of the life even if there is mental disparity or
physical separation between the husband and the wife. The husband is bound to
take up the responsibilities for the maintenance of his wife in spite of
sharing an estranged relationship. As time changed, the laws and education empowered
woman and divorce came as a spontaneous solution for an unsuccessful marriage.
The present society treats men and women equal, as a result the
burden of alimony can now fall upon either side of the party depending upon the
financial circumstances of the spouses. Even though in the present age of
equality, both men and women are equal before the law, in practice men are more
liable to provide interim support to his ex- spouse during the litigation
procedure.
After divorce either of the spouse has the right to claim alimony.
Though not an absolute right, it can be granted by the court depending upon the
circumstances and financial conditions of both the spouses.
The following are the conditions depending on which alimony is
awarded by the court.
·
Alimony is generally not granted to the seeking spouse if he or
she is already receiving support during the time of divorce. Although the
rewarding of alimony can be revised in such events based on the arguments for
claiming the support.
·
In case of a contested divorce, often spouses fail to come to any
understanding regarding alimony. In such situations, the court takes up the
task of making a decision on the amount of alimony to be paid.
·
Only under certain compelling situations the court steps out to
change the already framed alimony. Sometimes the court might even hand over the
burden of paying for the maintenance to a public body.
The following are the
factors that influence the duration and amount to be paid as alimony.
·
The amount and duration of alimony generally depends upon how long
the marriage existed. Marriages that lasted more than 10 years are entitled to
be granted a lifelong alimony.
·
Age of the spouse is also taken into consideration while awarding
alimony. Normally a young recipient of alimony gets it for a short period of
time if the court thinks that he or she will soon be able to become financially
sound through prospective career excellence.
·
Alimony is also in vogue in order to equalize the economic
condition of both the spouses. The higher earning spouse is entitled to pay a
heavy amount as alimony.
·
The spouse who is projected to be enjoying a prosperous career is
liable to pay high alimony amount.
·
If one of the spouses is suffering from poor health, the other is
subjected to payment of high alimony to ensure proper medication and well being
of the other spouse.
The terms and conditions of payment of alimony in India vary from
one personal law to another. None of the Indian personal laws are spared from
criticism due to existence of laws in framing definite rules for granting
alimony.
