Open Access Research Article
Reforms in Maintenance Laws: Addressing Gender Bias
Published Paper
Article Details
REFORMS IN MAINTENANCE LAWS: ADDRESSING
GENDER BIAS
AUTHORED BY -JOYSRI MONDAL
Heritage Law College, Kolkata
ABSTRACT:
This abstract delves into the
present maintenance laws, focussing on addressing inherent biases towards men to understand why we need reforms in maintenance law to achieve
gender equality. The discussion highlights the need for gender-neutral laws by analysing the laws from
a gender perspective. The first part of this paper deals with the
historical context behind the enactment of these laws and identifies the instances of gender biases in the current maintenance laws, followed by this the
paper analyses the use, abuse, and impact of the maintenance laws and then the legal theories and frameworks to
address biases. Further, the author
suggests reformations needed to make it free from bias and discusses the
challenges in implementing those
reforms. This paper also sheds light on the role of advocacy in reforming these laws and explores the reformed
maintenance laws in countries like the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and
France.
Keywords: Gender Bias,
Maintenance Laws, Legal Reforms, Gender Equality, Family Law
1.
INTRODUCTION
“The soul has no gender, then why
should the law?” – Anonymous. This quote rightly points out the idea of gender equality. We all
know that the past times were very tough for women which resulted in the enactment
of many women-centric laws including
the existing maintenance laws in India.
The
word “maintenance” came from a French
word “mentenir” which meant
shelter or protection. Later the term
evolved to signify the act of supplying the basic amenities to lead a healthy life. In Black’s Law Dictionary, the term maintenance means it is an act of maintaining, keeping up, and supporting the livelihood and means of sustenance. In simple words,
maintenance means monetary support
given to persons
who are unable
to maintain themselves financially in terms of food, shelter, clothing, and other
necessities for surviving. In India, various
maintenance laws are there which are based on religion. Mostly these laws are
gender biased as they unduly favor
one gender that is the wife and neglect the rights and needs of the other
that is the husband.
Under
the existing maintenance laws generally, it is the duty of a man to maintain
his wife, children, and parents by
paying a certain amount periodically for the sustenance of the wife and other dependents. These laws serve a
societal purpose where a man has the obligation to fulfil his moral commitments
in respect of his wife,
children, and parents.
2. HISTORICAL
CONTEXT
This segment deals with the historical context of
maintenance laws which helps us to realize why these biased
laws often favour one gender
over the other.
The Manusmriti, published in the 5th Century C.E.,
defined the structure of the society. It described the roles and responsibilities of the four varnas: the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and
Shudras. The Manusmriti portrayed women as dependents who needed protection and guidance throughout their lives. From then
women are burdened with the old age patriarchal beliefs. Due to patriarchal customs, men are considered as the
head of a family, holding the main authority
over their family,
where the duty of supporting their wives and dependents falls
on them. Hence from ancient
times, men are providing
all the basic necessities to the wife and other dependents. Women were deprived of
their basic amenities of life where they were
restricted to the household only having no source of income and completely dependent
on their husbands for survival. Their basic
rights were denied and women were suppressed in their marital homes, where they were subject to destitution and
vagrancy. This situation used to get worse
when a woman had to walk out from her marriage due to the defects in her
marital life. In such a
circumstance the husband can sustain his needs, but a woman cannot.
Therefore by keeping
into account the dreadful situation
and position of the then women in the society, many women-centric laws
including these maintenance laws have been enacted with the object of extending justice
to such women as women have been oppressed for decades. The enacted Personal
laws are rooted
in religion as different religions have different sets of customs
and traditions which are incorporated into each personal law as binding legal principles.
1.
Identification of Gender Bias in Current
Maintenance Laws
This segment
identifies the inherent gender biases in current maintenance laws.
Maintenance under Hindu Law
Under Hindu law maintenance can be
granted under two different statutes
the Hindu Marriage
Act, 1955, and the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act,
1956.
Section
24 of the Hindu Marriage Act states that if either the husband or the wife has
no sufficient means to maintain
themselves or to support his or her livelihoods, then they can claim maintenance under this section. The
court on the application made by the wife or the husband orders the respondent to pay the maintenance amount to the
claimant after analysing their source of income. Thus it can be inferred
that the Hindu Marriage Act, of 1955 is gender
neutral in terms of
maintenance as both the wife and the husband can claim maintenance under this Act.
Under
the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 only the wife, widowed
daughter-in- law, children, elderly
parents, and other dependents can be provided maintenance. Section 18 states that the wife can claim maintenance on any of the grounds
mentioned in section
18(2) of the Act. A wife is not entitled to claim
maintenance if she is unchaste or ceases to be a Hindu by conversion to another religion. Further under section 20 of
the said Act children and aged parents
can also claim maintenance. Children include both legitimate and illegitimate.
This Section imposes an obligation on the parents
both mother and father to maintain their children- legitimate and illegitimate till they attain the age of majority.
Thus it can be considered that the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 is gender biased
law in granting maintenance to the husband as only the wife has been
given the right to claim maintenance
under section 18 and this Act has no provision regarding the maintenance of the husband.
Maintenance under Muslim Law
Under Muslim Law, the term “maintenance” is known as “Nafqah” which
means, “what a person spends over his
family”. Under Muslim law,
maintenance can be claimed by the wife, children,
parents, and other relatives. A Muslim woman can also claim maintenance from
her husband during the iddat period
under section 3 of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986. A Muslim woman has
been given the absolute and unconditional right to claim maintenance. The husband has to maintain his wife even
if the wife has the means to maintain herself.
Also, it is the husband’s
liability to maintain his children if he fails to do so then comes the mother and then the
parental grandfather. Thus from the above discussion, it can be seen that Muslim personal laws do not recognise the right
of the husband to claim maintenance
and therefore it is a gender-biased
law.
Maintenance under Christian Law
The Indian Divorce Act, 1869 deals with the provisions of Christian
maintenance. Under this Act, both civil and criminal
suits can be filed by the wife. Section 36 of the said Act and section
24 of the Hindu Marriage
Act are both similar in terms of maintenance but only the difference is under section
36 only the wife can claim maintenance pendente lite and interim maintenance and not the husband. If a Christian
wife is not able to sustain herself
she can apply for alimony
or maintenance in a civil
court or high court under section 37 of the said Act, and the court will order
the husband to pay the maintenance amount till her lifetime. Under this
legislation, if there arises any
situation where the husband is not in a position to earn or becomes incapable of maintaining his wife, in such a
circumstance the court upon its discretion can suspend, reduce or even dispose of the amount till such date he is capable again to maintain his wife.
Hence again it can be inferred
by the above discussion that the maintenance under the Christian law is gender biased as there is no provision regarding the
maintenance of the husband it only talks about the maintenance of the wife.
Maintenance under Parsi Law
The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936 deals with the provisions of
maintenance under Parsi Law. Under
this Act, both civil and criminal suits can be filed by the spouse. Section 39 of the said Act and section 24 of the
Hindu Marriage Act are both similar in terms of maintenance. Section 39 states that either the husband or the
wife can claim maintenance if either
of them has no independent source of income sufficient for her or his support
and the necessary expenses of the
suit. The court on the application of the wife or the husband, orders the defendant to pay to the plaintiff, the expenses of the suit, and such weekly or monthly sum, during
the suit after analysing their incomes. Further section 40 states that either
the spouses can claim permanent alimony or a monthly
sum as maintenance.
Hence it is clear that maintenance under the Parsi
law is gender neutral as it recognises the right of maintenance of both the husband and wife.
MAINTENANCE LAWS UNDER THE SPECIAL MARRIAGE ACT, 1954
This
Act applies to those whose marriage was performed under this act. The wife can
claim maintenance pending the
litigation under section 36 and permanent maintenance or monthly sum under section 37 of the said Act, making the Act
gender biased.
MAINTENANCE UNDER THE CODE OF CRIMINAL
PROCEDURE 1973
Section 125 of Crpc (section
144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik
Suraksha Sanhita, 2023) talks about the maintenance of wives, children,
and parents. Under this section,
anyone can claim maintenance irrespective of their religion
or caste. It states that if any person often the husband,
having sufficient means neglects or refuses to maintain his wife,
children, or parents, who are unable
to maintain themselves, then a first class judicial magistrate may order such
person to pay maintenance to them
at such rate as he deems fit.
Thus
it can be inferred that this section also does not recognise the husband’s
right to claim maintenance. Though
despite neglecting the maintenance rights of the husband we cannot say that this act is completely gender
biased. This section has given the right to both the son and the daughter to maintain their parents and
children legitimate or illegitimate to be provided maintenance by their mother or father. Hence this
section is partially gender neutral.
USE AND ABUSE OF THE
LAW OF MAINTENANCE
This segment deals with the use and abuse of maintenance laws.
Maintenance laws provide financial
support to dependents who lack the means to maintain themselves such as wives, children, and parents from a person who is
liable to pay maintenance. Maintenance is given after divorce or separation where one spouse has no adequate
source of income. By providing maintenance
it maintains the standard of living of the spouse which they enjoyed during
their marital life, ensuring
they do not have to struggle to get basic amenities and suffer economically after the breakdown of their marriage. Maintenance laws also protect the rights of women from being
destitute and vagrancy as they were suppressed for decades and the laws also
protect women who are in genuine need. These laws help to safeguard and extend justice
to women by providing
means to sustain themselves. Further maintenance laws prioritize the welfare of children by ensuring that they receive
sufficient monetary support from their parents. It is important to meet the child’s
basic necessities including
education, healthcare, etc. Maintenance
laws contribute to fostering social justice by distributing financial resources
to those who lack the means to sustain within
the family ensuring
that all the members are getting their
needs timely from the providers.
Now
focusing on the abuse of maintenance laws, while these laws are enacted in
providing financial support
to individuals who are unable
to sustain themselves there are many instances where these laws are being abused. One
of the most prevalent forms of abuse is filing false suits where the spouses institute a false suit to gain more
money by concealing their source of income
to appear more dependent than they are. Sometimes the spouses file suit to
claim maintenance not out of genuine need but to harass the other spouse
which leads to unnecessary prolonged legal disputes. Another
type of abuse
is done through interim maintenance which is given during the pendency of the
maintenance suit. Spouses often intentionally delay the proceedings to extract
money from the other spouse, abusing these laws to prolong the proceedings. Sometimes the spouse who has
the obligation to pay maintenance does not obey the order of the court despite having the means to do so. This
leads to financial suffering for the
claimant in getting timely adequate means.
2. Impact of Gender
Bias in Maintenance Laws
The existing gender-biased laws which are enacted for the purpose of
extending justice to unprivileged
women are now being misused by some privileged manipulating women to exploit
men for securing more money.
Women misuse these laws for money by instituting false cases
against their husbands even if they have the means to maintain themselves. This
led to significant financial,
emotional, and social implications for all parties involved. It has been witnessed by the courts in different cases
where the woman tried to obtain maintenance from her husband by misusing the laws. In the case of Anil Jain vs.
Smt. Sunitai, the wife stayed in her marital
home for only 12 days. During this time, there
were no claims
of harassing the wife by her in-laws, and she did not disclose
any mistreatment and later she left the marital home. Afterward, the wife filed a maintenance application, alleging
that her husband and mother-in- law
harassed her during the stay compelling her to leave the home. The court
determined that there was a lack of evidence to prove the allegations of the wife. As a result, the court rejected
the wife’s maintenance claim. Because it was clear
from the wife's
actions that she filed a false case in an attempt to obtain maintenance
from her husband. Again in Smt. Ritu @ Ridhima & Anr. Vs Sandeep Singh Sangwanii, the wife was an
assistant professor but she did not reveal her
work status throughout the entire proceedings. Though she had the chance to
amend the error during the proceedings still she did not disclose
it. However during
the cross-examination the income and employment status were
disclosed. Hence the court decided that the wife intended to obtain maintenance from her husband
by giving false
information. The court further
stated that it is the duty of the person claiming maintenance to disclose her
financial status as it helps the court in determining the
quantum of maintenance.
Further
Gender bias in maintenance laws limits the financial independence and
empowerment of women. In today’s
times still, many people accept that women manage the households and men are the providers thus after marriage
women become completely dependent on their husbands knowing
that they will be provided
maintenance. These gender-biased laws underestimate the
capabilities of a woman by impliedly saying that women are not able to maintain themselves with this notion some
women do nothing to earn money which restricts
their autonomy and limits their ability to make financial decisions. It
further discourages women from
pursuing education and employment opportunities hindering their professional growth
and earning potential in the
long run.
The
gender-biased laws which favour women and neglect the maintenance rights of men impose a significant financial burden on
men when they are required to pay an excessive
amount of maintenance. They also face social stigma if they fail to
provide maintenance to their dependents because of their low incomes.
Men also need financial support
but these laws
neglect the rights of the husband. This unfair treatment causes
emotional distress for men, which
leads to the feelings of resentment, anger, and frustration, particularly if
they believe they are being unfairly
treated or exploited. Hence gender bias laws have significant implications for both men and women.
Addressing these biases is crucial for upholding impartiality within
the legal system.
3. Legal Theories and Frameworks
Maintenance laws play an important role in providing financial support to
individuals, often women after
divorce or separation. This segment explores the legal theories and frameworks along with
cases to address gender bias.
To understand the legal provisions we have to understand the jurisprudence first.
Jurisprudence means the knowledge of law. In ancient India,
jurisprudence is primarily
based on customs
and traditions. Part III of
the Indian constitution talks about the fundamental rights of citizens and part
IV states the directive principles. The main object
of these provisions is to promote
social welfare. The courts in
many cases upheld the concept of social jurisprudence by abolishing triple talaq to protect women’s rights and
striking down Section 377 of IPC. Throughout
history, women were deprived of equal status,
rights, and opportunities as men. They have been engaged with household work. Feminism jurisprudence or feminist legal theory demands
that law should be equal for all, without any bias or male domination.
In feminist jurisprudence, three major
ideological schools are there such as liberal,
radical, and cultural
feminism. Liberal feminism ensures independence and freedom from outdated stereotypes and gender discrimination. This philosophy is
individualistic as it believes that an individual has the freedom to do what he wants to do without interference from others. It argues that society holds
a false view that women are not intellectually capable as men which
creates discrimination against women.
Further, this ideology demands that laws should be gender-neutral and there should be no restriction on the basis of gender.
Radical feminism is against inequality experienced by women and opposes the notion that all men are
superior. It believes society is a
patriarchal society where men dominate and women are suppressed. Further, it
seeks to abolish patriarchy from society and liberate everyone
from an unjust society. Cultural
feminism is similar
to radical feminism.
It appreciates the unique qualities
of both genders. This philosophy
argues that women can function like men and are similar to men. There have been debates between liberal feminists and
radical feminists. The former wants equal opportunities for women and non-discrimination, while
the latter claims
that the existing
structure of law has the spirit
of a patriarchal society.
If we read the constitution of India we can understand that the framers
of the Constitution have tried their best to protect the interest
of women due to the status of women in earlier society. The mindset of the framers was to position women equally in
every sphere. Many women- centric
laws were enacted to protect women some of them are the Protection of Women
from Domestic Violence Act, 2005,
Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, Sexual
Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and
Redressal) Act, 2013, Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, Medical Termination of
Pregnancy Act, 1971 and sections
498A, 304B, 375 of IPC, also including section 125 of Crpc and other personal
laws regarding maintenance. Even the
state has the power to make special provisions to protect women under Article
15(3) of the constitution. In the case of National
Legal Service Authority
v.
Union of Indiaiii, it was held that the idea of social, economic,
and political justice, equality of status
and opportunity, and ensuring the dignity of the individual enshrined in the Preamble, recognizes the rights of every citizen to
be given these basic essentials which help them to reach their highest potential. Thus every individual
irrespective of their gender should be treated equally
in the eyes of the law and equal protection of laws should
be given to both men and
women as the concept of equality is itself enshrined in the preamble which is
the guiding principle of the Indian Constitution.
The
maintenance laws are not uniform and are different in each personal law. The
Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936, these
two laws are gender- neutral
in providing maintenance to men. Article
39 of the Constitution states
that the state can make policies in securing the right to an adequate
means of livelihood for both men and women,
thus both of this legislation follows the very idea of this Article
where either husband or wife can
claim maintenance. The courts in many cases granted maintenance to the husband.
In the case Nivya V M v. Shivaparsad M K ivthe Kerala high court held that if the wife is in a position to maintain her husband and if the
husband is not capable of maintaining himself then maintenance
can be provided by the wife. Again in
Lalit Mohan v. Tripta Devithev husband was injured due to an accident and he made an application for
maintenance. The Jammu and Kashmir
High Court stated that the husband can claim maintenance throughout his life
from his wife and also ordered for pendent
lite.
However,
the court in many cases held that before providing maintenance to the husband,
he has to prove his incapability. Such as in the case of Smt. Kanchan v. Kamalendravi the Bombay High Court ruled that before claiming
maintenance the husband has to prove that he is incapable of earning. It is done to prevent the husbands from abusing the laws by making their
wives work and claim maintenance. Again in the case of Yashpal Singh v.
Anjana Rajputvii, the
Madhya Pradesh High Court held that if a person voluntarily makes himself
incapable of earning to claim maintenance, then it will not be considered by the courts.
Other
laws including the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, section 125 of
CRPC, and the religious personal
laws are all gender biased which imposes the obligation to the husband
only to maintain their wives and children. Section
125 being secular does not recognize the right of a husband
to claim maintenance. Article 14 guarantees that the state shall not deny to any person equality before
the law or the equal protection of the laws. Equality before the law implies the absence of any special privilege in
favour of individuals and equal protection
of the law implies equality of treatment in equal circumstances. This Article
also prohibits the state from making
any discriminatory laws. While Article 15(3) permits the state to make laws for the protection of women
and children. However, all the maintenance laws were reasonable when they were enacted to protect women and due
to the then position of women, as women
faced deplorable situations in earlier times but they do not meet the current position of women.
In the case of Jagannath
Prasad v. State of Uttar Pradeshviii, the court stated
that equal laws should be applied to individuals in similar
circumstances. Thus in cases where the husband
is not capable of earning,
the wife should
be made liable to pay maintenance if she
has sufficient income as now women are also becoming as independent as men and
earning more than their husbands. But
because of these biased laws, women are still considered as a weaker section of society. Thus section
125 and the personal laws violate the principles of Article 14 by granting the right of maintenance only to the wife. In Thamsi Goundan
vs Kanni Ammalix, the court upheld the constitutional validity of section 125 and neglected
the rights of the husbands to claim maintenance which is
unfair and biased.
In
Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of Indiax, the court struck down section
377 of IPC and recognized the
existence of LGBT communities where both of them or neither of them are women. These biased
laws not only neglect the rights of husbands but also the rights of LGBT communities as Indian society has started
recognizing the LGBT communities as part of the society. In such a situation there is a strong need for
gender neutral laws.
The
courts in many maintenance cases denied the claim of husbands and favoured
women. Such as in Pradeep Kumar vs
Smt Bhawna and Anrxi, the Delhi High Court specified that it is the worst offense
to deny maintenance to a separated wife and child.
Hence the court dismissed the petition filed by a husband and
ordered him to pay Rs. 20,000 as interim maintenance to his wife and child. In Sandeep Walia vs Monika
Uppalxii, the court awarded maintenance to the wife even though the husband claimed that
his wife was well-qualified and employed. The
court further emphasized the importance of providing maintenance to the dependents irrespective of their
qualifications. In Vishesh
Taneja vs Reetaxiii, the High Court of Delhi
held that the main object of
maintenance is to encourage persons, mostly husbands, to fulfil their responsibilities by providing monetary
support to their dependents. Thus from the above cases
it is clear that strong protection has been given to women and men are
neglected thus creating gender
gaps.
4. Challenges in Implementing Reforms
Implementing reforms in maintenance laws can be challenging. As for
decades women are considered to be
maintained by the husband and if maintenance laws are being reformed by recognizing the husband’s right to claim
maintenance under the present laws then it would be challenging to change the traditional mindset of the people to
accept the reforms because of the
patriarchal society where the husband is always held liable to provide. Reforms require amendments to the existing laws which is also time-consuming and
their implementation also gets slower.
Further, enforcement of the reformed
maintenance laws can be challenging due to the burden
of the courts which are already occupied with a large number of cases.
5. Role of Advocacy and Awareness
The role of advocacy and raising awareness is crucial to reforming the
maintenance laws to serve gender
justice in maintenance disputes. Advocacy helps in raising the voices of those who are
affected by these laws. Through advocacy,
it can pressure lawmakers to enact meaningful reforms. In countries like
India where the maintenance laws often favour one gender advocacy can help to raise awareness about the
gender-biased laws. Further advocacy helps
to challenge biased laws and set judicial precedents that promote gender
equality. By raising awareness among
people and litigants it aims to educate them about the impact of gender-biased laws in society. Education
is a key factor through which people become more aware of their rights. Hence through legal clinics, campaigns, and raising awareness
reformation in maintenance laws can be achieved to eradicate gender-biased
laws within the present laws.
6. Impact Assessment of Reforms
Reforming the existing maintenance laws requires a multifaceted approach
here are some suggestions to reform the maintenance laws.
Firstly and most importantly the existing laws can be reformed by adopting gender-neutral
laws and removing biases that often favour women and neglect men. Both personal laws and the code of criminal
procedure which are biased in terms of maintenance should be amended
to recognize the husband’s rights to claim maintenance.
Secondly, these laws can be reformed by implementing adequate mechanisms ensuring
whether the maintenance orders are complied
with or not and whether
the claimant is receiving
the maintenance timely. Lastly by raising awareness about the maintenance
rights among both men and women. This
can be done through conducting campaigns, legal aid, and counselling, helping people to make them understand their rights
and liabilities which can reduce the chance of creating biases and misuse of laws.
7. Case Studies of Reformed Maintenance Laws
This segment deals with reformed
maintenance laws in countries like the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and France.
Maintenance Laws In
The Us
In
the US, maintenance laws are known as alimony or spousal support and the
meaning of which depends
on the state the spouse
lives in. The maintenance is often provided
after divorce or separation. The alimony payments are
made after considering the following factors such as spouses’ earnings and expenses, their marriage length,
Spouses’ age, health,
and their economic
and non-economic contributions
during marriage.
Maintenance laws in Canada
Spousal support in Canada is similar to the maintenance laws in the US
which is paid after divorce or
separation. In Canada monthly maintenance is common but some spouses are also provided with lump sum amounts with the
object of compensating a spouse for taking care of children, reimbursing a spouse who sacrificed their earning
capacity during the marriage, and ensuring financial stability of a spouse after divorce.
Maintenance laws in
the UK
In the UK spousal support is called maintenance order. The payment is
made after divorce for a specified
time. In rare cases, the spouses need to provide spousal support until the
death of the other spouse or when they marry again.
The amount is made after
considering some factors
such as the claimant’s income, needs, and earning capabilities. However,
the maintenance orders may be altered if the spouse loses their job or
gets a higher-paying job.
Maintenance laws in Australia
In Australia, Australia’s Family Law Act 1975, deals with the provisions
of spousal support. This law determines how long and how much the claimant
is to be provided with maintenance. The payment is provided after examining
the various factors including spouses’ earning
potential, the standard of living enjoyed by the spouses during their
marriage, and their financial needs.
Maintenance laws in France
The French civil code of 1804 deals with maintenance provisions in France. Article
208 of the said code states
that maintenance can be provided in proportion to the needs of the claimant and the earnings
of the defendant. With the object of balancing the financial needs
and incomes available to both spouses. The court
while granting maintenance to the claimant will take into account various factors such as the
income of both spouses, their compulsory expenses, and standard of living.
Further Article 271 of the civil code states the following factors which a judge shall take into account,
these are the duration of the marriage,
professional qualifications and occupations,
age and health of each spouse, assets
of the spouses, etc.
Thus from the above case studies
of maintenance laws in different countries, it can be seen that the maintenance laws in these countries
are more reformed in granting maintenance to the spouses. The most unique feature is that these laws recognize
the concept of gender neutrality and safeguard
both husband and wife’s rights
to claim “spousal
maintenance” rather than only protecting the “rights of the wives
to claim maintenance”.
8. CONCLUSION
The situation of women has changed in the post-modernization era. In this
era women are not restricted anymore
in the household instead they are attaining equality with men in terms of education, employment, and social status
due to the women-centric laws. Now with rapidly changing societies
women are also becoming independent in every field.
However, the existing
maintenance laws are still conservative in one perspective that it is
still considered women a weaker
section of society while it also neglects to recognize the husband’s rights to
claim maintenance. Today it can be seen that some women are earning more than their
husbands and she is in a position to maintain her
dependents, then why is the parliament not amending the laws by including
husbands' rights to be maintained by their wives?
These biased laws not only harm
the husband’s rights but also the rights of LGBT communities. Further, we can
see from cases like Vasant v. Govindrao Upasrao
Naik and Orsxiv and V.M. Arbat
v K.R. Sawaixv where the court held that not only the sons
but the daughters are also responsible for providing maintenance to their parents. From these judgments, we can infer
that the courts are holding daughters
responsible for maintaining their parents. If daughters are held liable to
maintain their parents then the same
principle must be applicable also for women in maintaining their husbands.
If maintenance laws can be gender neutral
for the parents then why the maintenance laws cannot be made gender
neutral for the spouses? Today most of the laws favour women, if we demand that women should be treated
equally as men then why a man is not being treated equally as women? Therefore both genders should be treated
equally in the eyes of the law because both men and women can be victims,
it is not always that women are victims and men are found guilty sometimes it can be
visa-versa too. Thus the present biased laws should be reformed and made gender neutral
by including men’s rights. The intention of making the laws gender-neutral is not to limit women’s
rights but to broaden the scope of the maintenance laws by including
husband’s rights also. Many developing and developed countries
that we discussed above have already
adopted the concept
of gender-neutral laws by granting
maintenance to both spouses. Hence the term ‘maintenance to wife’ must
be replaced with ‘spouse’ to make
the laws gender-neutral in India.
CITATION:
i Anil Jain v. Smt.
Sunita 2016 SCC OnLine MP 6368
(India)
ii Smt. Ritu @ Ridhima &
Anr. v. Sandeep
Singh Sangwan, 2022 LiveLaw (PH) 44 (India)
iii National
Legal Service Authority v. Union of India AIR 2014 SC 1863
iv Nivya V M
v. Shivaparsad M K 2017
(2) KLT 803
v Lalit Mohan v. Tripta Devi, AIR 1990 J K 7
vi Smt. Kanchan
v. Kamalendra Alias
Kamalakar AIR 1992 BOM 493
vii Yashpal Singh
Thakur v. Smt. Anjana Rajput
AIR 2001 MP 67A
viii Jagannath Prasad Sharma
v. State Of Uttar Pradesh & Ors 1961 AIR 1245
ix Thamsi Goundan v. Kanni Ammal AIR 1952 Mad 529
x Navtej Singh
Johar v. Union Of India
AIR 2018 SC 4321
xi Pradeep Kumar
v. Smt Bhawana, 2022 SCC OnLine Del 2082 (India)
xii Sandeep Walia v. Monika
Uppal, 2022 LiveLaw
(Del) 677 (India)
xiii Vishesh Taneja
v. Reeta, 2022 LiveLaw (Del) 679 (India)
xiv Vasant v. Govindrao Upasrao Naik & Ors, Criminal Revision Application No. 172/2014
xv V.M. Arbat v K.R. Sawai, 1987(1)
SCALE 379
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Article Information
Reforms in Maintenance Laws: Addressing Gender Bias
Authors: Joysri Mondal
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2024/06/20
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
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