Madam,
First, maintenance part: If you are in indigent position and unemployed, for your sustenance, you can seek for maintenance, if there is a reasonable ground for you to keep away yourself from your matrimonial home. Cruelty perpetrated by the husband and harassment by husband or relatives of husband living in matrimonial home are valid and reasonable grounds for a wife leave the matrimonial home and seek maintenance. It can be souoght by Section 125 cr.p.c. or Section 18 of HAMA or Domestic Violence Act. I suggest you to move complaint under Section 125 cr.p.c., which is expeditious and also has a provision of interim maintenance, which can quantified immediately after receiving the husband's counter in the case. Your educational qualifications and your capability of acquiring job are not considered to deny you the maintenance rights. Very a few cases are there and particularly one by Justice S.N. Dhingra (retired judge) of Delhi High Court, which says that able bodied and qualified woman is not entitled to maintenance. But thhis judgement and their ilk are not binding in nature as the Supreme Court has already laid down the principles those govern the grant of maintenance to the estranged wife and you fall in that category and hence, being qualified and able bodied, but being in unemployment, you are entitled to maintenance. Further, Justice S.N. Dhingra's judgment is also not binding for the reason that it is per incurium judgment and has not referred to any supreme court or division bench of Delhi High Court judgments, which go contrary to his professed new philosophy. So, the trial courts long back stopped to take into consideration of his judgment. so, you can go ahead in this direction.
Next recovery of stridhan. Stridhan is such property or gifts which are given to bride before, during or immediately after the marraige either from her family and friends side and also from husband's side. They are recoverable at the instance of the wife in the event of estrangement or in normal conditions. There are three modes to recover these articles/properties. The first method is by filing police complaint under Section 406 IPC. the police initiate conciliation and during the conciliation prevail upon the husband to return them. Second, directly filing the complaint before the Magistrate, again under Section 406 IPC. Thirdsly, by filing civil suit for recovery, which is costly litigation as court fee has to be levied on the basis of the value of the property / articles, sought to recover. In addition to this, again under domestic violence Act, you can recover stri-dhan property. For recovery under this mode, you have to file DV case before the magistrate. For obtaining relief under DV Act, you have to prove domestic violence. Even refusal of stridhan to the wife at her demand is itself "economic abuse" and amounts to domestic violence. So, domestic violence as defined in DV Act and the harassment as defined in Section 498-A IPC (popularly known as dowry harassment) are different in colour and complexion and tone and tenor. Further, the qulity of evidence required is also different in both the cases. So, consult a good and knowledgeable advocate and proceed further.
Wish you best of luck.
