Supreme Court outlines factors for permanent alimony, emphasises decent living for wife without penalising husband

Supreme Court of India. File Pic

In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court has issued detailed guidelines for determining permanent alimony. The apex court directed a man to pay a one-time settlement of Rs 5 crore as permanent alimony to his wife upon the dissolution of their marriage.

According to a report by Live Law, the bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Prasanna B. Varale emphasised the father's responsibility to maintain and care for his child. The court directed the husband to make a provision of Rs 1 crore for his adult son's maintenance and financial security.

After six years of marriage, the man and his wife lived separately for nearly two decades. The man alleged that the wife was hypersensitive and treated his family indifferently, while the woman claimed that the husband's behaviour towards her was inappropriate, as reported by Live Law.

As per the report, the apex court deemed the marriage to be "irretrievably broken down," considering that the parties had been living apart for an extended period and there was no possibility of rekindling their matrimonial obligations.

Before deciding on the permanent alimony of Rs 5 crore, the Supreme Court referred to the cases of Rajnesh v. Neha (2021) and Kiran Jyot Maini v. Anish Pramod Patel (2024).

The apex court noted that the permanent alimony amount should be determined in a way that does not penalise the husband while ensuring a decent standard of living for the wife.

The court took into account that the wife was unemployed and worked as a homemaker, while the husband was employed in a managerial role at a foreign bank, earning a salary of Rs 10 to 12 lakh per month. Considering these factors, the court deemed it appropriate to set the permanent alimony amount at Rs 5 crore as part of a one-time settlement for the dissolution of the marriage.

Bengaluru Techie Suicide Case: FIR under abetment of suicide filed against wife, 3 others

An FIR has been filed against 4 people in connection with the suicide of a 34-year-old deputy general manager of a private firm, Atul Subhash, who died by suicide, accusing his wife, her family members, and a judge of harassment, extortion, and corruption.

The FIR based on a complaint by Atul's brother Bikas Kumar was lodged at the Marathahalli police station in Bengaluru. The FIR has been filed under section 108 (abetment of suicide) and section 3 (5) (establishes joint criminal liability when two or more people act with a common intention) of the BNS. The FIR is filed against the techie's wife Nikita Singhania, his mother-in-law Nisha Singhania, his wife's brother Anurag Singhania and his wife's uncle Sushil Singhania.

As per the complaint filed by the brother of Atul, the FIR mentions that Atul Subhash married Nikita Singhania in 2019 and had a child together. The complaint alleges that the four accused filed a false case against Atul Subhash after their divorce and insisted on paying Rs 3 crore for the settlement of the case.

The complaint also alleges that Atul Subhash's wife had demanded Rs 30 lakh to allow him to visit his son who is now four years old. The complaint alleges that Atul had died by suicide as he was harrassed mentally and physically. Based on the complaint, the case has been registered and an investigation is underway.

According to a statement released by the police, the victim was a resident of Uttar Pradesh who was living in Bengaluru. The police stated that the Hoysala Police Control Room received a call at 6:00 am on Monday about the suicide in a flat at Bengaluru's Manjunatha Layout in the Delfinium Residency.

The statement further stated that when the police went to search the place, the flat was locked from inside, and the lock was broken, following which they went inside and saw Atul hanging from a ceiling fan by the support of a nylon rope. The police stated that he was found dead upon arrival.

The police informed the incident to the brother of the deceased, Bikas Kumar, who later filed a complaint against Subhash's wife, his mother-in-law, his brother-in-law, and his wife's uncle, accusing them of filing a false complaint against Subhash and demanding Rs 3 crore money for the settlement, which led to his mental and physical harassment, following which he had to take the step.

In his suicide note, Subhash called for justice, stating, "Justice is Due" on every single page of the 24-page note. Along with his wife and her family members, Subhash also accused a family court judge in Uttar Pradesh's Jaunpur of not hearing him out, and an officer in the court, accusing him of taking bribes in front of the judge.

Subhash further described the instances that instigated him to take such a step. Subhash recorded a video describing his alleged harassment and asking his family members not to immerse his ashes till justice is served to him. His suicide note also had a message for his four-year-old son who he claimed had been kept estranged from him. The note also called for his parents to be given custody of his child.

(With inputs from Agencies)