Allahabad High Court in its Judgement held that second marriage is void from the start, she did not enjoy the status of wife under the Hindu Marriage Act, and was not entitled to maintenance under HAMA too. The court also observed that the petitioner was married "with full knowledge that he (husband) was already married and that his first wife is living. In the circumstances, she cannot lay any claim to sympathy."
The high court held that maintenance in the case of husband's bigamous marriage can be claimed under Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act only if both marriages had taken place before the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 came into effect.
Accordingly, the victim may sue her husband and claim the maintenance by way of cash or kind.