Alimony for divorcees

Just to add to above information..... both our ages are 36 years. We do not have any kids.

Let me know incase you would need any other information which would be required to suggest the approximate alimony or monthly maintenance.

Dear Raj

I am assuming that you and your wife both are Hindu and Hindu Marriage Act applies to your marriage. However under other marriage laws, the reply would be similar, but the specific provisions of the legislation may change.

First, please understand that in the first year of marriage, divorce petition cannot be filed. However in exceptional cases, the Court may allow a petition to be presented before one year has elapsed since the date of the marriage on the ground that the case is one of exceptional hardship to the petitioner or of exceptional depravity on the part of the respondent. After going through the facts of your case, I find no exceptional ground for presenting the case in the first year of marriage.

Second, when the Court hears the case of divorce, in most of the cases, the Court refers the matter for mediation and based on the report of the mediator, the Court proceeds. In mediation, the alimony/ maintenance is discussed and based on the agreement between the parties, the settlement amount is usually decided. However, in some cases, the Court can decide on its own the maintenance/ alimony under section 25 of the Hind Marriage Act. Under this provision, on application by the Applicant, the Court can order the other party, payment of maintenance to the applicant. The Court decided the maintenance having regard to the respondent's own income and other property of the applicant, the conduct of the parties and other circumstances of the case. There is no fixed formula to decide the amount of maintenance/ alimony.

I would suggest that you talk to your wife and persuade her come to the matrimonial  home. If everything fails, you can also file the application for restitution of conjugal rights under section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act. Please consult a local lawyer with full details.

Divya Jyoti Jaipuriar, Adv.

Just a clarification for Jyoti Jaipuriar...... Both my wife and myself are Hindus and Hindu mariage act would apply.

Secondly, My parents, myself & family friends have been trying to convince my wife to return back to matrimonial home since long and in this period we have crossed 1.5 years of marriage. So we have far crossed the 1 year after married date. She is not willing to return back (and decided about that) and she is fastly moving ahead with her plans to file false cases to pull my entire family into her false allegations to ensure I agree to her demand for high maintenance/ alimony. She is not open for any mediation talks or conciliation meetings. She has mentioned this specifically.

So I plan to apply for divorce well before that.

Repeat Query to all experts here:

What would be the approximate alimony/ monthly maintenance if I file for divorce? While deciding alimony/ monthly maintenance, Will court take into consideration her previous alimony? Please provide a detailed breakup of your calculations too so I can understand it better and plan accordingly. I do not have any other ancestral property. Only source of income is my salary.

Dear Raj

As I already said in my last post that there is no formula for deciding the amount of alimony/ maintenance.  The Courts usually decide the amount based on various factors including the income, wealth and property, financial conditions and conduct of the parties.

On the issue of divorce, you certainly can now file it under section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act. But please note that the grounds for divorce for husband are very limited (in comparison to the grounds available to wife) and you must draft your petition very carefully. In your case, as your wife has deserted you, but such desertion is of less than two years, you cannot use the ground of desertion. With limited information available in this discussion, in my opinion, you can only use the ground of cruelty for divorce. The term cruelty has not been defined in the Hindu Marriage Act, but Supreme Court in a number of its judgments has defied Cruelty as mental or physical, intentional or unintentional. If it is physical, the court will have no problem to determine it. It is a question of fact and degree. If it is mental, the problem presents difficulty. So you need to draft your application to clearly making cruelty as a valid ground for divorce.

Divya Jyoti Jaipuriar, Adv.

Dear Raj

As I already said in my last post that there is no formula for deciding the amount of alimony/ maintenance.  The Courts usually decide the amount based on various factors including the income, wealth and property, financial conditions and conduct of the parties.

On the issue of divorce, you certainly can now file it under section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act. But please note that the grounds for divorce for husband are very limited (in comparison to the grounds available to wife) and you must draft your petition very carefully. In your case, as your wife has deserted you, but such desertion is of less than two years, you cannot use the ground of desertion. With limited information available in this discussion, in my opinion, you can only use the ground of cruelty for divorce. The term cruelty has not been defined in the Hindu Marriage Act, but Supreme Court in a number of its judgments has defied Cruelty as mental or physical, intentional or unintentional. If it is physical, the court will have no problem to determine it. It is a question of fact and degree. If it is mental, the problem presents difficulty. So you need to draft your application to clearly making cruelty as a valid ground for divorce.

Divya Jyoti Jaipuriar, Adv.

The author of the query is already having experience in handling divorce issues because he was a divorcee before marrying this female.  He is worried about the quantum of alimony money alone.  The issue has been thoroughly explained by my learned friend Advocate Mr. Divya Jyoti Jaipuriar, if the author is not satisfied with the reply by Mr. Jaipuriar, he may consult his lawyer for further clarifications.