Spouse in void marriage entitled to alimony from partner: Supreme Court

The entitlement is based on the Hindu Marriage Act, the court said.

A three-judge bench comprising Justice Abhay S Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Augustine George Masih said void marriages also fall under Sections 24 and 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act.

The top court said as quoted by The Indian Express, "... whether such a relief of permanent alimony can be granted or not always depends on the facts of each case and conduct of the parties. The grant of relief under Section 25 is always discretionary."

It added, "... even if a court comes to a prima facie conclusion that the marriage between the parties is void or voidable, pending the final disposal of the proceeding under the 1955 Act, the court is not precluded from granting maintenance pendente lite provided the conditions mentioned in Section 24 are satisfied."

"... while deciding the prayer for interim relief under Section 24, the court will always take into consideration the conduct of the party seeking the relief, as the grant of relief under Section 24 is always discretionary," the court further added.

Under Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act 1995, a marriage is void if one of the two or both parties have spouses at the time of marriage or the parties to the marriage are involved in a prohibited relationship or the parties are sapindas of each other.

The Supreme Court took note of the use of 'illegitimate wife' term by a full bench of the Bombay High Court in one of the judgements to refer to a wife of a void marriage.

The top court said calling the wife of a marriage which has been declared as void is inappropriate and hurts the dignity of a woman.