Today, a husband paying a massive amount of alimony to his wife after divorce barely makes any headlines. However, recently, in an unconventional divorce case, a family court in Pune ordered a 78-year-old wife to pay interim alimony of ₹25,000 per month to her 83-year-old husband. The couple had filed for divorce in 2019 after 55 years of their marriage and have now become the talk of the city.
The 83-year-old petitioner sought for divorce and alimony, after claiming to repeatedly being harassed by his 78-year-old wife. “If the husband has no source of income and his wife is earning and there are ongoing family disputes between them, then the husband can also file a claim for alimony under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. This case proves that not only the wife, but also men can get justice,” advocate Vaishali Chandne, the petitioner’s lawyer, said in a media statement.
While the decision is not much heard of, we spoke to Punekars, who are hailing the move by the court. Samreen Sayyad, 26 from Hadapsar, finds the decision “progressive”. She adds, “A concept like alimony should not be gender-specific. When my husband heard this news, he reacted quite positively to it which was a pleasant surprise. It’s a step forward, but I hope it doesn’t get misused.”
Rachana Joshi from Sanghvi thinks it’s a “path-breaking verdict”. The 35-year-old shares, “So far, men were always held responsible for the woman they marry, so they were expected to give alimony. But in this case, injustice was done to the man. And if the woman is earning and the man isn’t, I feel it’s a fair decision.”
{{/usCountry}}Rachana Joshi from Sanghvi thinks it’s a “path-breaking verdict”. The 35-year-old shares, “So far, men were always held responsible for the woman they marry, so they were expected to give alimony. But in this case, injustice was done to the man. And if the woman is earning and the man isn’t, I feel it’s a fair decision.”
{{/usCountry}}Khadki’s Saif Mulla was surprised about the news as well. “If we talk about equality, this is something we should be open to accepting. Even a man [who doesn’t earn] can need financial support. So, I feel this is a progressive move. The law should always be equal for both the parties,” the 29-year-old opines.
Madhura Patkar, 28, from Ravet, who wasn’t aware of this news until she spoke to us, shares, “This step will ensure that men do not face any kind of financial pressure after divorce.”