Alimony Guidelines | Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 |

Early enforcement (प्रवर्तन/ लागू करना; the process of making people obey a law or rule) of maintenance laws is a must to protect dependent women

The following article will help you learn English and improve English reading, vocabulary and current affairs. It has word meanings in both Hindi and English which will help you understand the article clearly. Let's read the Hindu editorial today.

In India, though more girls are going to school now, for many, the inevitable (अटल/अनिवार्य; certain to happen and unable to be avoided) reality seems marriage before completion of higher education. Girls are married off early and bear (जन्म देना/सँभालना; to give birth or to hold/support something) children long before they should.

This triggers (प्रेरित/शुरू करना; to cause something to start) a state of poor maternal health and is one of the root causes of high levels of child stunting (बढ़ने/विकसित न होने देना  to prevent the growth or development of something) and wasting in India.

There is also the possibility of a marriage not working out for varied reasons, leaving the girl or young woman in extreme distress because often she is not financially independent.

Parliament and the courts have persistently (लगातार; happening repeatedly or for a long time) enacted (नियम बनाना; to put something into action or to make a law) legislation to give women better rights. Article 15(3), which states ‘nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision (प्रावधान/नियम ; a statement or a law that a particular thing must happen or be done) for women and children’, read together with Article 39, which directs state policy towards equal pay and opportunities for both men and women, and protecting the health of women and children, are two key constitutional safeguards (सुरक्षा उपायों; laws/rules to protect someone or something from harm or destruction).

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court leaned on these two Articles, and a host of other laws, while hearing a dispute between a Mumbai-based couple, and set down (निर्धारित करना; to write or print words, ideas, or information) comprehensive guidelines on alimony (निर्वाह निधि/व्यय; a regular amount of money that a law court orders a person to pay to his or her partner after a divorce).

The court ruled that an abandoned (छोड़ा हुआ; left in a particular place or condition, usually forever) wife and children will be entitled (हकदार; feeling that you have the right to do or have) to ‘maintenance’ from the date she applies for it in a court of law.

In a 67­page judgment, a Bench of Justices Indu Malhotra and R. Subhash Reddy, outlined (रूपरेखा/सारांश; a description of the main facts about something) specifics, including “reasonable needs” of a wife and dependent children, her educational qualification, whether she has an independent source of income, and if she does, if it is sufficient, to follow for family courts, magistrates and lower courts on alimony cases.

Given the large and growing percentage of matrimonial litigation (मुकदमेबाज़ी; the process of taking a case to a court of law), some clarity was necessary. Cases are known to drag on and acquire cobwebs (मकड़ी का जाल; a structure of thin, sticky threads made by a spider), worsening the misery (दुःख/विपत्ती; great unhappiness) for vulnerable (कमज़ोर/असुरक्षित; able to be easily hurt, influenced, or attacked) women. 

The Court laid down (निर्धारित: to officially establish a rule) that while women can make a claim for alimony under different laws, including the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and Section 125 of the CrPC, or under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, it “would be inequitable (अनुचित; not fair) to direct the husband to pay maintenance under each of the proceedings (कार्यवाही; the actions that are taken in a court of law)”, urging (आग्रह करना;  strongly advising or encouraging someone to do a particular thing) civil and family courts to take note of previous settlements.

Perhaps keeping in mind the vastness of India and its inequities (अन्याय; something that is not fair or equal), the Court also added how an “order or decree of maintenance” may be enforced under various laws and Section 128 of the CrPC.

For women in India, especially the poor who are often overlooked (अनदेखी करना; to fail to notice or consider something or someone) in discourses (प्रवचनों; communication in speech or writing), the top court’s words that maintenance laws will mean little if they do not prevent dependent wives and children from “falling into destitution (अभावग्रस्तता; without money, food, a home, or possessions) and vagrancy (भीख माँगना/ आवारागर्दी; a poor person without a home or a job, who moves from place to place)”, offer a glimmer (किरण/झलक; a slight sign of something good or positive) of hope. 

Thank you for reading it complete, You can now make your own English vocabulary list for revision and/or also visit us daily to revise the Hindu daily vocabulary.

Join Our Telegram Group