Wife, Separated From 1st Husband, Can Claim Maintenance From 2nd Husband Though 1st Marriage Not Legally Dissolved: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court ruled that a woman is entitled to claim maintenance under Section 125 of the Cr.P.C. from her second husband, even if her first marriage was not legally dissolved. The Court clarified that a formal decree of dissolution is not mandatory. If the woman and her first husband mutually agreed to separate, the absence of a legal divorce does not prevent her from seeking maintenance from her second husband. Holding so, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma granted relief to the woman allowing her appeal against the Telangana High Court's order to deny her maintenance under Section 125 Cr.P.C. from her second husband just because her marriage with the first husband was not legally dissolved."It must be borne in mind that the right to maintenance u/s. 125 CrPC is not a benefit received by a wife but rather a legal and moral duty owed by the husband," the Court observed while holding that S.125 CrPC required a broad interpretation considering its social welfare objective.Brief FactsBriefly put, Appellant No.1 had married the Respondent (Second Husband) despite not obtaining a formal divorce from her first husband. The Respondent was aware of the Appellant No.1 first marriage. The couple lived together, had a child, and later separated due to matrimonial disputes. Appellant No.1 then sought maintenance under Section 125 Cr.P.C., which was initially granted by the Family Court but later set aside by the High Court because her marriage was void due to subsistence of the first marriage as it was not legally dissolved. The Respondent-Second Husband opposed Appellant No.1's plea for maintenance contending that she can't be considered as Wife of Respondent because she had a legally subsisting marriage with her first husband. The Appellant No.1-Wife argued that the term "wife" under Section 125 Cr.P.C. should be interpreted broadly to include women in void marriages, especially when the second husband knew of the first marriage and the wife had separated from her first husband.IssueThe short question before the Court was "whether a woman is entitled to claim maintenance u/s. 125 CrPC from her second husband while her first marriage is allegedly legally subsisting."ObservationSetting aside the High Court's decision, the judgment authored by Justice Sharma observed that there's no bar under Section 125 Cr.P.C. for the wife to claim maintenance from her second husband even though her first marriage was not legally dissolved. Since, the Respondent-Second Husband was aware of her first marriage when he married and re-married her, therefore, he can't take an excuse to deny her maintenance just because her first marriage was not legally dissolved, the court said. “Two other pertinent facts must be considered: firstly, it is not the case of the Respondent that the truth was concealed from him. In fact, the Family Court makes a specific finding that Respondent was fully aware of the first marriage of the Appellant No. 1. Therefore, Respondent knowingly entered into a marriage with Appellant No. 1 not once, but twice. Secondly, Appellant No. 1 places before this Court an MoU of separation with her first husband. While this is not a legal decree of divorce, it also emerges from this document and other evidence that the parties have dissolved their ties, they have been living separately and Appellant No. 1 is not deriving maintenance from her first husband. Therefore, barring the absence of a legal decree, Appellant No. 1 is de facto separated from her first husband and is not deriving any rights and entitlements as a consequence of that marriage.”, the court observed. The Court cited the recent case of Mohd. Abdul Samad vs. State of Telangana and Another emphasizing the financial vulnerability of homemakers in India to reiterate that the right to maintenance is not merely a benefit for the wife but a legal and moral duty of the husband. Accordingly, the appeal was allowed and the maintenance award granted by the Family Court was restored. Case Title: SMT. N. USHA RANI AND ANR. VERSUS MOODUDULA SRINIVASCitation : 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 156Click here to read/download the judgmentAppearance:For Petitioner(s) Mr. A.K. Thakur, Adv. Mr. Rishi Raj, Adv. Mr. Shekhar Kumar, AOR Mr. Sujeet Kumar, Adv. Mr. Ningthem Oinam, Adv. Mr. Yogesh Sham Sonawane, Adv. Mr. Ashish Pratap Singh, Adv. Mr. Dhruv Singh, Adv. Ms. Santosh, Adv.For Respondent(s) : Mr. C. Mohan Rao, Sr. Adv. Mr. R. Santhnan Krishnan, Adv. Mr. Lokesh Kr. Sharma, Adv. Mr. D. Mahesh Babu, AOR

Wife, Separated From 1st Husband, Can Claim Maintenance From 2nd Husband Though 1st Marriage Not Legally Dissolved: Supreme Court

Yash Mittal

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