6. Maintenance Pendente Lite and Permanent Alimony — Sections 24 and 25
A matrimonial case can drag on for years, and someone still has to eat and pay a lawyer in the meantime — Sections 24 and 25 exist precisely to make sure a financially weaker spouse isn't forced to fight the case, or live afterward, from a position of total dependence.
The Problem This Topic Solves
Students usually know that "maintenance" exists somewhere in the Hindu Marriage Act, but blur together two provisions that serve completely different moments in a case: money to survive while the case is being fought, and money to live on after it ends. They also frequently get a genuine trap question wrong — whether a spouse who is capable of earning, but isn't actually earning, can still claim interim maintenance. This post separates the two provisions cleanly and answers that exact trap.
Maintenance Pendente Lite — Section 24
Section 24 allows either the wife or the husband — the provision is gender-neutral — to apply, during the pendency of any proceeding under the Act (not only a divorce petition; it covers restitution, judicial separation, and nullity proceedings too), for monthly maintenance and the necessary expenses of the proceeding, if that spouse has no independent income sufficient for their support and for the expenses of the case. The court fixes the amount having regard to the petitioner's own income and the respondent's income. Since a 2001 amendment, the court is expected to dispose of such an application within sixty days of service of notice on the respondent, precisely because this relief is meant to be urgent, not something that waits until the final hearing.
Applies to Every Kind of Proceeding — Jagraj Singh v. Birpal Kaur (2007)
**Jagraj Singh v. Birpal Kaur (2007)** — The Supreme Court clarified that Section 24 is not limited to divorce proceedings; it applies to any proceeding under the Hindu Marriage Act, and reiterated that applications for interim maintenance and litigation expenses must be dealt with promptly, since the whole point of the provision is to prevent one spouse from being unable to even participate meaningfully in the litigation for want of funds.
Permanent Alimony and Maintenance — Section 25
Section 25 operates at a different stage: at the time the court passes any decree under the Act, or at any time afterward on application, it may order the respondent to pay the applicant a gross sum or a periodical sum for maintenance, having regard to the respondent's own income and property, the applicant's income and property, the conduct of the parties, and other relevant circumstances. Such payment can be secured, if necessary, by a charge on the respondent's immovable property.
Modification and Termination of a Section 25 Order
Under Section 25(2), the court can vary, modify, or rescind an existing order if it is satisfied there has been a material change in the circumstances of either party. Under Section 25(3), the order comes to an end if the party in whose favour it was made remarries, or — in the case of a wife receiving maintenance — if she has not remained chaste, or — in the case of a husband receiving maintenance — if he has had sexual intercourse with any woman outside wedlock.
Factors the Court Weighs — Vinny Parmvir Parmar v. Parmvir Parmar (2011)
**Vinny Parmvir Parmar v. Parmvir Parmar (2011)** — The Supreme Court set out the key factors relevant to fixing permanent alimony under Section 25: the status of the parties, the reasonable wants of the claimant, the number of persons the claimant is legally bound to maintain, and the claimant's own independent income and property. The award should be neither so meagre that it fails to support the claimant, nor so high that it becomes unfairly punitive on the paying spouse.
Comparing Maintenance Pendente Lite and Permanent Alimony
| Basis | Maintenance Pendente Lite (Sec. 24) | Permanent Alimony (Sec. 25) |
|---|---|---|
| When available | During the pendency of the case | At, or any time after, the final decree |
| Purpose | Enable the weaker spouse to survive and litigate | Provide ongoing support after the case ends |
| Form of payment | Monthly amount + expenses of proceeding | Gross sum or periodical sum, can be secured on property |
| Available to | Either spouse, in any proceeding under the Act | Either spouse, once any decree is passed |
| Can it end? | Ends when the proceeding itself ends | Can be varied, modified, or ended under Sec. 25(2)/(3) |
- Section 24 (interim) is available to either spouse during any pending proceeding under the Act, not just divorce.
- Section 25 (permanent) operates from the decree onward and can be a gross sum or periodical payments, secured on property if needed.
- A Section 25 order ends automatically on the recipient's remarriage, and on unchastity (wife) or extramarital intercourse (husband) under Section 25(3).
- Section 24 applications must ordinarily be decided within sixty days of service of notice — a 2001 amendment meant to stop this urgent relief from being delayed like the main case.
- Vinny Parmvir Parmar's factors — status, reasonable wants, dependants, own income — are the standard checklist for a Section 25 answer, not just "respondent's income."
- Merely being employable is not the same as having sufficient independent income — a genuinely unemployed spouse with the theoretical capacity to work is not automatically disqualified from interim maintenance.
A Practical Example
A wife files a petition for divorce and applies for maintenance pendente lite under Section 24. The husband opposes the application, arguing that she is capable of earning her own living even though she is not currently employed. Capacity to earn is not the same as actually having sufficient independent income today. Unless the husband can show she currently has an independent income sufficient for her support and the litigation's expenses, her mere employability is not, by itself, a valid ground to defeat the claim, and the court can still grant maintenance pendente lite.
Quick Revision Points
- Section 24 — maintenance pendente lite: either spouse, during any pending proceeding, decided within 60 days of notice.
- Section 25 — permanent alimony: at or after the decree, gross or periodical sum, can be secured on property.
- Section 25(2): variable/modifiable/rescindable on material change of circumstances.
- Section 25(3): ends on remarriage, or unchastity (wife) / extramarital intercourse (husband).
- Jagraj Singh v. Birpal Kaur (2007): Section 24 applies to every kind of proceeding under the Act.
- Vinny Parmvir Parmar v. Parmvir Parmar (2011): status, reasonable wants, dependants, and own income are the key Section 25 factors.
- Mere capacity to earn ≠ sufficient independent income — capacity alone does not defeat a Section 24 claim.
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