Widowed Daughter in Law and Right

to Maintenance in Hindu Marriage

Act, 1955

Abstract:

“Half of the Indian populations too are women. Women have always been discriminated
against and have suffered and are suffering discrimination in silence. Self-sacrifice and self-
denial are their nobility and fortitude and yet they have been subjected to all inequalities,
indignities, and discrimination”.
----Justice K.Rama Swamy in Madhu Kishwar vs.State of Bihar

The High Court of Punjab and Haryana in Avtar Singh vs. Jasbir Singh (RSA No. 29/1988
(O&M) in its decision dated 11.02.2014) held that a lacuna in the position of Hindu wife qua
their property and maintenance rights, whose husband is unable to provide maintenance to her
under Section 18 of Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 was identified. The project
Article is divided into six parts:

I) Introduction
II) Aims and Objectives of the Research Paper
III) Provisions of Maintenance of the Hindu wife under Hindu Adoptions and
Maintenance Act 1956
IV) Status of wife of a Joint Hindu Family and Hindu Coparcener- a) Status of wife of
a Joint Hindu Family, b) Status of wife of a coparcener
V) Conclusion

Keywords: Hindu Law, father-in-law’s liability, Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act,
1956, Hindu wife, Husband’s disability, Maintenance

Research question:

1. What are the provision for maintenance of widowed daughter-in-law in HAMA(Hindu

Adoptions and Maintenance Act).

2. How is section 24 of Hindu marriage act different from section 18 of HAMA.

Methodology:

This doctrinal study involves analysis of only secondary data from different published and
unpublished sources. For the purpose of developing an authentic study several books authored
by renowned academicians, journals authored by law practitioners and scholars, several
educational websites have been referred to. For case summaries and legal commentaries
reliance have been placed on various online legal databases.

Literature Review 1:

The right of maintenance under Hindu law is very old and it was one of the basic necessities
of the joint family system. The maintenance of the women in the joint family system was an
important system and this was followed as a tradition which governed the families. It was the
obligation of the head of the family (karta) to look after the women of the family i.e. their wives
and their daughters until they were married. The Hindu husband has a legal obligation to
maintain his wife during his lifetime. However, if a wife ceases to be Hindu or lives separately
under no legal grounds she looses the right to claim maintenance too. Also, a Hindu wife under
this act shall not be entitled to separate residence and maintenance from her husband if she is
unchaste or converts to another religion.
- Article from legal services India1

Literature Review 2:

Marriage is the very foundation of any society. Marriage, according to the Hindu Law, is a holy
union for the performance of religious duties. Marriage is not a contract but it is a Sanskar or
Sacrament‟. The Sanskar ordained that once a maiden is given in marriage, she must preserve
her chastity as much after as before her husband’s death.” According to the Mahabharata, Wife
is not only a source of Dharma, Artha and Kama‟ but also a source of Moksha‟. Hindu
marriage protects a woman by guaranteeing her legal rights for restitution of conjugal rights in
case of desertion, legitimacy of the children, relief in case of cruelty, adultery, impotency, claim
of maintenance and alimony etc. and order for maintenance to wife who is unable to maintain
herself.

1
http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/2211/Right-of-Hindu-Wife-To-Maintenance-
Under-Hindu-Adoption-And-Maintenance-Act.html
 - Article from Lawteacher2

Tentative Bibliography:

Hindu Marriage act,1955

Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956
Madhu Kishwar v. State of Bihar
https://www.lawctopus.com/academike/right-claim-maintenance-2/

2
https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/family-law/maintenance-of-wife-under-hindu-
law-essays.php
http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/Vol20-issue2/Version-2/I020224249.pdf
http://www.advocatekhoj.com/library/bareacts/hinduadoptions/19.php?Title=Hindu%20Adoptions%2
0and%20Maintenance%20Act,%201956&STitle=Maintenance%20of%20widowed%20daughter-in-
law
http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/2211/Right-of-Hindu-Wife-To-Maintenance-Under-Hindu-
Adoption-And-Maintenance-Act.html
https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/family-law/maintenance-of-wife-under-hindu-law-
essays.php
https://www.lawctopus.com/academike/right-claim-maintenance-2/