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Saurabh..V (Law Consultant)     10 September 2011

Husband - guardian of wife (discussion on maintenance)

It has been drawn inference from our ved - shastr that man owes a duty to take care of his family. He has been designated as the head of the family "in default" and there is no dispute regarding it even in law.

 

This thread is OPEN to all to join and discuss the phenomenon of "Maintenance". The fundamental questions and debate points are three-

 

1.) Is husband the real guardian?

 

2.) Is husband duty bound to pay maintenance being a guardian?

 

3.) Is the right of maintenance of wife higher than that of the duty of the husband to maintain his wife?

 

I would appreciate answers which infere not only our culture but also the law and practical scenarios which would help understand the phenomenon of "Maintenance".

 

I'm hopeful if this threads receives dedicated response, then, in future for any maintenance query we can refer this thread for most of the answers :)

 

 

//peace

/Saurabh..V



Learning

 26 Replies

Tajobsindia (Senior Partner )     10 September 2011

@ Saurabh

he he

bade chalak hon bhai !

I was expecting eloboration and you pulled me in same chakravuh yeh bhi sahi hai........:-)


Mahaprabhu
when Hindu Laws were codified Britishers took note of Shastras and Vedas read with prevalent traditions and customs inviting the then scholors / intelectual cklass on drafting committees but Britishers codified Hindu Laws in such a way that the Husband of a minor girl is defined to be her guardian not that Husband of a major girl (now his wife) also comes in same bracket !


I know of communist thoughts propogated here by Prabhakar, Adv.  and Hema a law Officer and this "husband a guardian of a major Hindu wife" thinking of yours draws parallel to them by re-writting Hindu Law i.e. what is not there as codified should be pedelled to be Law of the land; so ld. friend let me buckle up to give you piece of how Hindu Laws got codified and definitions thereto at some other time in this same post.


Hence, que. of a Hindu husband being guardian qua maint. to a major hindu girl (now his wife) is not interpreted to be as per your above thread by any stretch of interpretations in any of the Hindu codified Laws / Statutes is my view.

Saurabh..V (Law Consultant)     10 September 2011

@Tajobs

 

In my view, the inference that Britishers drawn was may be due to the prevelant custom of child marriage etc. However, today as per our Hindu Laws a married adult female is denoted as dependant and her husband is desgnated as guardian. This is as per the statute which exists today. Let me recall my memory and come back with exact provision that I'm talking about !!

 

//peace

/Saurabh..V

Saurabh..V (Law Consultant)     10 September 2011

@Zeeshaan

See below provisions especially earmarked in yellow. Let me collect more excerpts from other statutes and put forth before I give my detailed view on your questions and points raised by @tajobs..

 

125. Order for maintenance of wives, children and parents.

 


(1) If any person leaving sufficient means neglects or refuses to maintain-

 

(a) His wife, unable to maintain herself, or

 

(b) His legitimate or illegitimate minor child, whether married or not, unable to maintain itself, or

 

(c) His legitimate or illegitimate child (not being a married daughter) who has attained majority, where such child is, by reason of any physical or mental abnormality or injury unable to maintain itself, or

 

(d) His father or mother, unable to maintain himself or herself,

 

Explanation. For the purposes of this Chapter.

 

(a) Minor means a person who, under the provisions of the Indian Majority Act, 1975 (9 of 1875) is deemed not to have attained his majority;

 

(b) "Wife" includes a woman who has been divorced by, or has obtained a divorce from, her husband and has not remarried.

 

(4) No wife shall be entitled to receive an allowance from her husband under this section she is living in adultery, or if, without any sufficient reason, she refuses to live with her, husband, or if they are living separately by mutual consent.

 

(5) On proof that any wife in whose favour an order has been made under this section is living in adultery, or that without sufficient reason she refuses to, live with her, husband, or that they are living separately by mutual consent, the Magistrate shall cancel the order.

Raj Kumar Makkad (Adv P & H High Court Chandigarh)     10 September 2011

1. Yes. The husband is actually a guardian of his wife. At the time of marraige in Hindu families, Pundit reminds husband and wife both to accept this situation in their married life.

 

2. Yes. Husband is provided with a duty to do so.

 

3. No. According to Shashtras, wife is required to live as per condition of her husband.

2 Like

Saurabh..V (Law Consultant)     10 September 2011

For further study about maintenance we have to look into Hindu Adoption & Maintenance Act, 1956. I'm supplying the excerpts below for your kind consideration:

 

18) Maintenance of wife

 

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a Hindu wife, whether married before or after the commencement of this Act, shall be entitled to be maintained by her husband during her lifetime.

 

(2) A Hindu wife shall be entitled to live separately from her husband without forfeiting her claim to maintenance -

 

(a) If he is guilty of desertion, that is to say, of abandoning her without reasonable cause and without her consent or against her wish, or of willfully neglecting her;

 

(b) If he has treated her with such cruelty as to cause a reasonable apprehension in her mind that it will be harmful or injurious to live with her husband;

 

(c) If he is suffering from a virulent from of leprosy;

 

(d) If he has any other wife living ;

 

(e) If he keeps a concubine in the same house in which his wife is living or habitually resides with a concubine elsewhere;

 

(f) if he has ceased to be a Hindu by conversion to another religion ;

 

(g) if there is any other cause justifying her living separately;

 

(3) A Hindu wife shall not be entitled to separate residence and maintenance from her husband if she is unchaste or ceases to be a Hindu by conversion to another religion.

21) Dependants defined

 

For the purposes of this Chapter "dependants” means the following relatives of the deceased:

 

(i) his or her father ;

 

(ii) his or her mother;

 

(iii) his widow, so long as she does not re- marry

 

(iv) his or her son or the son of his predeceased son or the son of predeceased son of his predeceased son, so long as he is a minor:

 

PROVIDED and to the extent that he is unable to obtain maintenance, in the case of a grandson from his father's or mother's estate, and in the case of a great - grand son, from the estate of his father or mother or father's father or father's mother;

 

(v) his or her unmarried daughter, or the unmarried daughter of his predeceased son or the unmarried daughter of a predeceased son of his predeceased son , so long as she remains unmarried;

 

PROVIDED and to the extent that she is unable to obtain maintenance, in the case of a grand - daughter from her father's or mother's estate and in the case of great-grand- daughter from the estate of her father or mother or father's father or father's mother;

 

(vi) his widowed daughter :

 

PROVIDED and to the extent that she is unable to obtain maintenance

 

(a) from the estate of her husband, or

 

(b) from her son or daughter if any, or his or her estate; or

 

(c) from her father-in-law or his father or the estate of either of them ;

 

(vii) any widow of his son or of a son of his predeceased son, so long as she does not remarry:

 

PROVIDED and to the extent that she is unable to obtain maintenance from her husband's estate, or from her son or daughter, if any, or his or her estate; or in the case of a grandson's widow, also from her father-in-law's estate

 

(viii) his or her minor illegitimate son, so long as he remains a minor;

 

(ix) his or her illegitimate daughter, so long as she remains unmarried.

 

 

 

23) Amount of maintenance

 

(1) It shall be in the discretion of the court to determine whether any, and if so what, maintenance shall be awarded under the provisions of this Act, and in doing so the court shall have due regard to the considerations set out in sub- section (2), or sub- section(3), as the case may be, so far as they are applicable.

 

(2) In determining the amount of maintenance, if any, to be awarded to a wife, children or aged or infirm parents under this Act, regard shall be had to.-

 

(a) the position and status of the parties;

 

(b) the reasonable wants of the claimant ;

 

(c) if the claimant is living separately, whether the claimant is justified in doing so;

 

(d) the value of the claimant's property and any income derived from such property , or from the claimant's own earnings or from any other sources;

 

(e) the number of persons entitled to maintenance under this Act

 

(3) In determining the amount of maintenance, if any, to be awarded to a dependent under this Act, regard shall be had to.-

 

(a) the net value of the estate of the deceased after providing for the payment of his debts;

 

(b) the provision, if any, made under a will of the deceased in respect of the dependant;

 

(c) the degree of relationship between the two;

 

(d) the reasonable wants of the dependant;

 

(e) the past relations between the dependant and the deceased;

 

(f) the value of the property of the dependant and any income derived from such property; or from his or her earnings or from any other source;

 

(g) the number of dependants entitled to maintenance under this Act.

 

 

 

22) Maintenance of dependents

 

(1) Subject to the provisions of sub section (2) the heirs of a deceased Hindu are bound of maintain the dependants of the deceased out of the estate inherited by them from the deceased.

 

(2) Where a dependant has not obtained, by testamentary or intestate succession, any share in the estate of a Hindu dying after the commencement of this Act, the dependant shall be entitled, subject to the provisions of this Act, to maintenance from those who take the estate.

 

(3) The liability of each of the persons who takes the estate shall be in proportion to the value of the share or part of the estate taken by him or her.

 

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub section (2) or sub section (3), no person who is himself or herself a dependant shall be liable to contribute to the maintenance of others, if he or she has obtained a share or part the value of which is, or would, if the liability to contribute were enforced, become less than what would be awarded to him or her by way of maintenance under this Act.

 

//peace

/Saurabh..V

Saurabh..V (Law Consultant)     10 September 2011

One more statute for Guardianship

Hindu Minority & Guardianship Act

 

6) Natural guardians of a Hindu minor

 

The natural guardian of a Hindu minor, in respect of the minor’s person as well as in respect of the minor’s property (excluding his or her undivided interest in joint family property), are-

 

(a) in the case of a boy or unmarried girl- the father, and after him, the mother, provided that the custody of a minor who has not completed the age of five years shall ordinarily be with the mother;

 

(b) in the case of illegitimate boy or an illegitimate unmarried girl- the mother, and after her, the father;

 

(c) in the case of married girl -the husband:

 

PROVIDED that no persons shall be entitled to act as the natural guardian of a minor under the provisions of this section-

 

(a) If he has ceased to be a Hindu ,or

 

(b) If he has completely and finally renounced the world becoming a hermit (vanaprastha) or an ascetic (yati or sanyasi)

 

Explanation In this section, the expression “father” and “mother” do not include a step- father and a step-mother.

//peace

/Saurabh..V

Saurabh..V (Law Consultant)     10 September 2011

@Tajobs

 

I agree with your view point of the fact that husband is the guardian of his wife till she attains majority (as per HMGA)....

 

//peace

/Saurabh..V


(Guest)

As per Saurabh,forums are only meant for seeking legal advice.Not for any articles & news.

 

So according to me,this thread authored by Saurabh is more of an article,which I really appreciate.So it should be posted in article section.

Saurabh..V (Law Consultant)     10 September 2011

@Princess

 

I humbly seek sincere apology to sit 180 degree apart in digesting your views...

 

My post is not an article/news. It has been specifically posted with a view to elicit views from learned members.

 

This post is not for their information but for discussion. It does not contain that is posted by spicy news sellers but it contains the excerpts from our statutes.

 

Moreover, I've planned to give my personal view on this and these are not the words of someone else which are copied and pasted for gaining LCI points.. I've posted law not news and I've specifically mentioned that I want to learn more by the legal expert on this point. Like I realized my mistake about the understanding of law about guardianship of adult female after marriage.

 

If you are here just to fight with me and do not have an open mind to allow income information from those you hate, then I humblyu request you not to advice me anymore and please stop this anti-Saurabh campaign of yours..... Thanks in advance !

 

Moreover, I started this thread because @Tajobs wanted to discuss this point in open forum !! Article is equvivalent to news. Dictionary meaning of Article is:

"Nonfictional prose forming an independent part of a publication"

 

So if you could understand the fundamental meaning between the words Article (News Items) AND Forum then only you could understand what content would qualify for which section .........

 

Articles pass the knowledge from one side and is closed form of asking questions. Similar is a news item. They both sends and parses information one way but forum is something where the posts are open for inward flow of information alike my post above...

 

//peace

/Saurabh..V


(Guest)

 

Even the latest judgements posted under forums are meant for eliciting viewrs' responses.I hope you inderstand dear brother Saurabh.No I am not trying to campaign against you.I respect your knowledge and also appreciate your analytical mind.Frankly I did not show my thanks which I wanted to,because of this latest war b/w us.But Roshni thanked you many times,which you did not appreciate.

 

If you want to elicit responses,I feel blogs are the best places.LCI has provisions for blogs also.

 

Anyways....Kindly read below:

Some threads started by forums by Saurabh,which are not meant for forums:

 

 

https://www.lawyersclubindia.com/forum/Females-Are-they-really-innocent--40887.asp

 

This topic is a general topic about girls’ personality.So it is unrelated to family law.Must have been posted as a blog  in “others” section.It is not a legal advice which he is seeking.

 

 

https://www.lawyersclubindia.com/forum/Females-Are-they-really-innocent--40890.asp

Unrelated to constitutional law.How is female’s cunningness or innocence related to the Indian constitution,that it was posted in constitutional law?This is beyond my understanding.So it may be posted as a blog in “OTHERS”section,because it is only a discussion topic.

 

https://www.lawyersclubindia.com/forum/S-90IPC-S-376IPC-RAPE--40270.asp

 

Again it’s discussion related topic.Since Saurabh has been advocating of late that forums are only meant for seeking legal advice,therefore this topic must have been posted as a blog,under Criminal Law category.

 

 

 

 

https://www.lawyersclubindia.com/forum/Flaws-in-CrPC-40039.asp

 

Same as above.In this thread Saurabh has also written that these are his “views”.Hence views are best voiced inside blogs.

 

 

https://www.lawyersclubindia.com/forum/MAiNTENANCE-8211-A-Myth-Unveiled-29047.asp

 

Kudos to this well written article..But dear brother Saurabh,you must have written it in articles section,and spared the forums for those needy querists.

 

 

 

 

I sincerely hope that dear Saurabh strongly follows himself what he preaches others.If he does not like to post his articles and views under “ARTICLE” & “BLOGS” sections respectively,but uses forums only to post them,he must avoid repeatedly telling other members,what they should post/not post in forums.

 

Best Regards,

 

Princess

 

 

 

 

 


(Guest)

Above is my last post.I am sorry if someone got hurt.But the above reply was important to give.

 

I close my argument now in this thread...

Saurabh..V (Law Consultant)     10 September 2011

@Princess

 

Thanks for reminding how much I ached my fingers and hands to type the text and had determination to write something of my own.

 

Though you only pointed towards my posts in forums but forgot about my posts in Article Sections. The last post which you talk about which is about Maintenance, has already been posted before I posted on family law forum.

 

It is pertinent you couldn't grasp the meaning of posts.

 

Still if you feel that such topics should go into Article Section...........then lets take oath to do it equally.

 

If you have problems with my posts in forums, I would refrain doing it and would post in Article Sections. Let's see who follows this advice once you endorsed by posting my threads above..........

 

If you remember I said same thing to @Roshni that it's not me who gets personal but you came and proved I'm right. Let's see till when @Roshni follows and keeps your words when I have agreed not to post such items...... Let's also see who is the man of words !!!!! (human is the right word but saying looks good as it it) :)

 

//peace

/Saurabh..V

gaury..fight to win (Education)     10 September 2011

 

 

1.) Is husband the real guardian?

 Ans: No, all husbands are not  guardian.Pundits reminds many more thing at the time of marriage to accept.Duties are distributed.Wife brings the husband's kid to this world which husband can not do.This is understanding.Not guardianship.

2.) Is husband duty bound to pay maintenance being a guardian?

Ans;No, all husbands are not bound to pay maintenance.Those wives who break those commitment towards husband then she is not liable to get maintenance.(if she indulges in adultary or leaves husband without any reasonable cause.)

 

3.) Is the right of maintenance of wife higher than that of the duty of the husband to maintain his wife?

Ans:Right implies duty.Duty implies right.

Wife leaves home/family/brothers/sisters and are compelled to make them accept some unknown persons as relatives then why husband is not bound pay maintenance.


 

 

1 Like

Tajobsindia (Senior Partner )     10 September 2011

Originally posted by :Saurabh..V
" Moreover, I started this thread because @Tajobs wanted to discuss this point in open forum !! Article is equvivalent to news. Dictionary meaning of Article is:

"Nonfictional prose forming an independent part of a publication"
"


When these three time pass women here SHUT UP qua this thread flag me, we will take it forward with our piece meal.


PS:


1. It is not material if only one time pass women so far entrapped you in this thread with her above irelevent posts qua this thread.


2.
I requested for this discussion to you bze for the first time in black & white I saw such (communist) logics hence wanted to understand @ Authors view for larger public interest.


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