Widow has the right to maintenance even from father-in-law: Chhattisgarh High Court said – Such a claim of a woman who was evicted from her in-laws after her husband’s death is justified.

Now widowed women can claim maintenance from their in-laws also. Till now there was no clear provision regarding this in the Hindu Marriage Act. The Chhattisgarh High Court has given an important order in this regard. The Division Bench of Justice Gautam Bhaduri said that if the father-in-law throws his daughter-in-law out of the house after the death of the husband, she will be legally entitled to maintenance. Widow women can claim for this. The High Court upheld the decision of the Family Court.

The girl, a resident of Korba, was married in the year 2008 to a youth resident of Janjgir-Champa. After marriage, the woman’s husband died untimely in the year 2012. After this her father-in-law and in-laws threw her out of the house. So, the woman started living in her maternal home. During this, the widowed woman filed a complaint in the Janjgir-Champa Family Court in 2015. In this, he demanded maintenance from father-in-law and in-laws’ side. The family court, giving a verdict in favor of the woman, ordered the father-in-law to give maintenance to the widowed daughter-in-law.

The decision of the family court was challenged
The father-in-law of the widow had appealed in the High Court challenging this order of the Family Court. In this, he termed the order of the Family Court as illegal. Said that under the Hindu Marriage Act, a woman can claim maintenance from her husband, but cannot claim the in-laws after his death. Therefore, the order of the Family Court should be set aside.

High Court said – Hindu woman is entitled for maintenance
The Division Bench of the High Court, after hearing both the sides, clarified that under the Hindu Marriage Act, the responsibility of the upbringing of the daughter-in-law after the death of the woman’s husband lies with the father-in-law and the in-laws. In such a situation, in case of dispute with daughter-in-law or taking her out of the house, it is the responsibility of her in-laws to maintain her. The court has clarified that after the death of the husband, a widow can claim maintenance on her father-in-law or in-laws.

There was no clear provision on the maintenance of widow
Till now it was happening that if there was a divorce, then under the Hindu Marriage Act, the woman could take the cost of living from her husband. It was not clear as to who would be responsible for her sustenance and maintenance if her husband died untimely and the widowed woman was also thrown out of her in-laws’ house. But, after this decision of the High Court, now widowed women can claim maintenance on their father-in-law and in-laws.