Vimalben Ajitbhai Patel vs Vatslabeen Ashokbhai Patel and others (CIVIL APPEAL NO 2003 OF 2008)
[Arising out of SLP (Civil) No. 1061 of 2007] With (CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 502 OF 2008)
[Arising out of SLP (Crl.) No. 213 of 2007]
20. The matter relating to grant of maintenance are now governed by the provisions of Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956. Sections 3 (b), 18 and 19 of the said Act read as under :-
"3. (b) "Maintenance" includes- (i)in all cases, provision for food, clothing, residence, education and medical attendance and treatment;
Section 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 life time.
Sub-section (2) of Section 18 thereof, however, lays down certain exceptions therefor.
Sub-section (3) of Section 18 reads :-
"(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."
Section 19 - Maintenance of widowed daughter-in-law
(1) A Hindu wife, whether married before or after the commencement of this Act, shall be entitled to be maintained after the death of her husband by her fatherin-law:
Provided and to the extent that she is unable to maintain herself out of her own earnings or other property or, where she has no property of her own, is unable to obtain maintenance-
(a) from the estate of her husband or her father or mother, or
(b) from her son or daughter, if any, or his or her estate.
(2) Any obligation under sub-section (1) shall not be enforceable if the father-in law has not the means to do so from any coparcenary property in his possession out of which the daughter-in-law has not obtained any share, and any such obligation shall cease on the re-marriage of the daughter-in-law."
21. Maintenance of a married wife, during subsistence of marriage, is on the husband. It is a personal obligation. The obligation to maintain a daughter-in-law arises only when the husband has died. Such an obligation can also be met from the properties of which the husband is a co-sharer and not otherwise. For invoking the said provision, the husband must have a share in the property. The property in the name of the mother-in-law can neither be a subject matter of attachment nor during the life time of the husband, his personal liability to maintain his wife can be directed to be enforced against such property.
22. Wholly un-contentious issues have been raised before us on behalf of Sonalben (wife). It is well settled that apparent state of affairs of state shall be taken a real state of affairs. It is not for an owner of the property to establish that it is his self-acquired property and the onus would be on the one, who pleads contra. Sonalben might be entitled to maintenance from her husband. An order of maintenance might have been passed but in view of the settled legal position, the decree, if any, must be executed against her husband and only his properties could be attached therefor but not of her mother-in-law.
26. We may notice that in Balwant Kaur vs. Chanan Singh : (2000) 6 SCC 310, this Court reiterated the said principle in the following words :-
"21. This provision clearly indicates that if the widowed daughter-in-law is a destitute and has no earnings of her own or other property and if she has nothing to fall back upon for maintenance on the estate of her husband or father or mother or from the estate of her son or daughter, if any, then she can fall back upon the estate of her father-in-law. This provision also indicates that in case of a widowed daughter-in-law of the family if she has no income of her own or no estate of her husband to fall back upon for maintenance, then she can legitimately claim maintenance from her father or mother. On the facts of the present case, therefore, it has to be held that Appellant 1, who was a destitute widowed daughter of the testator and who was staying with him and was being maintained by him in his lifetime, had nothing to fall back upon so far as her deceased husband’s estate was concerned and she had no estate of her own.
Consequently, as per Section 19(1)( a ) she could claim maintenance from the estate of her father even during her father’s lifetime. This was a pre-existing right of the widowed daughter qua testator’s estate in his own lifetime and this right which was tried to be crystallised in the Will in her favour after his demise fell squarely within the provisions of Section 22(2) of the Maintenance Act."
28. Interpreting the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act this Court in S.R. Batra vs. Taruna Batra : (2007) 3 SCC 169 held that even a wife could not claim a right of residence in the property belonging to her mother-in-law, stating :
"17. There is no such law in India like the British Matrimonial Homes Act, 1967, and in any case, the rights which may be available under any law can only be as against the husband and not against the father-inlaw or mother-in-law. 18. Here, the house in question belongs to the motherin-law of Smt Taruna Batra and it does not belong to her husband Amit Batra. Hence, Smt Taruna Batra cannot claim any right to live in the said house. 19. Appellant 2, the mother-in-law of Smt Taruna Batra has stated that she had taken a loan for acquiring the house and it is not a joint family property. We see no reason to disbelieve this statement."