The Delhi High Court recently held that a divorced daughter cannot claim maintenance from her mother or brother under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (HAMA).
The division bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Neena Bansal Krishna observed that while there were 9 categories of dependents mentioned under Section 21 of the HAMA, a divorced daughter doesn’t fall in any of those categories.
In its order, the Court added, “An unmarried or widowed daughter is recognized to have a claim in the estate of the deceased, but a “divorced daughter” does not feature in the category of dependents entitled to maintenance.“
The Court further noted that a divorced woman has the right to claim maintenance from her husband even after the divorce; not from their maternal side. In the present case, the woman claimed that she could not trace her husband.
However, the Court responded by pointing out that it still could not order the mother or brother of the woman to pay her maintenance.
The Court said, “However difficult situation as it may be, but under the HAMA as she is not a “dependent” as defined under the Act and thus not entitled to claim maintenance from her mother and brother.“
The Court said this while hearing a woman’s plea challenging a trial court’s rejection of her petition under Section 22 (dealing with maintenance of dependents) of the HAMA.
The woman had been married to a man in 1995, but the husband deserted her later and left for the United States of America. As a result, the woman was granted an ex parte divorce in 2001.
The woman also told the High Court that she was being paid ₹45,000 per month as maintenance by her maternal family till November 2014, on her assurance that she would not press for her share in property bequeathed to her by her father.
Later her monthly payments were stopped, as a result, the woman was facing a significant shortage of money, she confirmed.
The Court was told that the father of the appellant had bequeathed a land measuring nine acres, to her and her sister. They sold the same in 2001 and shared the sale proceeds, she told to the Court.
The Court further observed that the woman’s brother and mother had earlier helped her voluntarily by giving her ₹45,000 per month to her till 2014.
After observing that they had no statutory obligation to provide her maintenance, subsequently, the High Court subsequently concluded by dismissing the woman’s appeal. It also opined that the family court had rightly held that the woman was not entitled to claim any maintenance under HAMA.
The appellant-woman appeared in person. While the respondents were represented by Advocates Kapil Arora, Manjula Baxla, and Prashanti Bhatt.
News Source: https://www.barandbench.com/news/delhi-high-court-divorced-daughter-hindu-adoption-and-maintenance-act
