NEW DELHI: Giving women significant autonomy to choose whether to return to their estranged husbands, Supreme Court Friday ruled that a wife is entitled to maintenance from her husband even if she refuses to comply with a court decree in favour of the man for restitution of conjugal rights.
A bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said, "Preponderance of judicial thought weighs in favour of upholding the wife's right to maintenance under Section 125 CrPC, and the mere passing of a decree for restitution of conjugal rights at the husband's behest and non-compliance therewith by the wife would not, by itself, be sufficient to attract the disqualification under Section 125."
Writing the judgment, Justice Kumar said whether the wife had legitimate reasons for not complying with the decree of restitution of conjugal rights would depend on the facts of each case and there could not be an omnibus ruling that refusal to go back to the matrimonial home would disentitle the woman wife of her right to maintenance.
"It would depend on the facts of the individual case, and it would have to be decided, on the strength of the material and evidence available, whether the wife still had valid and sufficient reason to refuse to live with her husband, despite such a decree," the bench said.
"In any event, a decree for restitution of conjugal rights secured by a husband coupled with non-compliance therewith by the wife would not be determinative straightaway either of her right to maintenance or the applicability of the disqualification under Section 125(4) CrPC," it added.
Setting aside a Jharkhand high court order that had denied maintenance to a woman for refusing to join the matrimonial home despite the husband getting a decree for restitution of conjugal rights, the Supreme Court said that the facts stated by the woman in refusing to go back to her husband - his that he refusal refused to bear her her treatment expenses after abortion,, and not being allowed to use the toilet at the matrimonial home - were facts about her ill-treatment and formed cogent grounds for her reluctance to go back to him.
Finding that the woman was fully dependent on her brother for survival, the SC ordered the husband to pay a monthly maintenance of Rs 10,000 to her and pay arrears of maintenance from Aug 2019 in three instalments by Dec 2025.
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