Hindu Marriage Act, important Supreme Court and High Court Judgments with subject of case, case decisions, case laws and citations
Case Title | Name of Court | Act | Date and Citation | Gist |
A. Jayachandra vs Aneel Kaur |
Supreme Court | HMA 13 1 (ia) | 02 December 2004 (2005) 2 SCC 22 |
Acts subsequent to the filing of the petition can be taken note of to show a pattern in the behaviour and conduct |
Alok Kumar Jain Vs. Purnima Jain |
Delhi High Court | HMA 24 | 17 April 2007 AIR 2007 (NOC) 1654 (Del.), 2007(96) DRJ 115 |
Things to rely on while awarding interim maintenance |
Anil Jain vs Maya Jain | Supreme Court | Hindu Marriage Act 13 | 01 September 2009 (2009)10 SCC 415 |
Wife retracts after filing Mutual Consent Divorce and taking valuables under MCD terms, husband approaches SC. SC allows divorce on MCD. |
Abbayolla M. Subba Reddy vs Padmamma | Andhra High Court | HAMA | 27 July 1998 1998 (5) ALD 465, 1998 (5) ALT 152, I (2000) DMC 266 |
1.If marriage is nullity, then HMA 25 not applicable. 2.Court cannot grant relief of maintenance obtainable under one Act in proceedings under the other. |
Anu Kaul vs Rajeev Kaul | Supreme Court | Hindu Marriage Act 24 | 23 March 2009 (2009) 13 SCC 209 |
Wife working no maintenance |
Anuradha Alias Chanchal Kumari vs Santoshnath Khanna | Delhi High Court | HMA 12 1(a) |
27 September 1977 ILR 1977 Delhi 739, 1978 RLR 111 |
A particular kind of impotency known as Impotentia quoad hunc vel ham. That is to say incapacity to perform coitus with a particular individual. A party is impotent if his or her mental or physical condition makes consummation of the marriage a practical impossibility. |
Anurag Anand vs Sunita Anand | Delhi High Court | HMA 12 | 11 October 1996 1997 IAD Delhi 37, AIR 1997 Delhi 94, 65 (1997) DLT 1037, II (1996) DMC 389, 1997 (40) DRJ 68 |
Judgment Against Husband - Husband gives wrong Salary and family
property details in biodata, hence Wife took Annulment |
Arun Kashinath Deshpande Vs. Inumati Ramchandra Deo | Bombay High Court | HMA 25 | 08 April 2010 LAWS(BOM)-2010-4-252 |
Wife was earning and she suppressed this so permanent alimony
cancelled. |
Arvind Kumar Prasad vs Geeta Prasad | Patna High Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 15 March 2017 | Wife filed 498A and made various scandalous allegations, Divorce on cruelty |
Asha Devi vs Pominder Kumar Chhabra | Delhi High Court | HMA 24 | 07 September 2006 | Judgment Against Husband- Maintenance to be paid till HMA petition not terminated |
Chand Dhawan vs Jawaharlal Dhawan | Supreme Court | HMA 25 | 11 June 1993 1993 SCR (3) 954, 1993 SCC (3) 406 |
Court cannot grant relief of maintenance obtainable under one Act in proceedings under the other. |
Bhaurao Shankar Lokhande & Anr vs State Of Maharashtra & Anr | Supreme Court | Hindu Marriage Act 11 | 01 February 1965 1965 AIR 1564, 1965 SCR (2) 837 |
If the marriage is not a valid marriage, it is no marriage in the
eye of law |
Bai Bhanbai Mavji vs Kanbi Karshan Devraj And Anr | Gujarat HC |
HMA 11 | 17 June 1969 AIR 1970 Guj 137, 1970 CriLJ 962, (1970) 0 GLR 581 |
Wife not eligible for Maintenance if it falls under HMA 11 |
Bhausaheb Magar vs Leelabai Magar 2003 | Bombay High Court | HMA 11, 12 | 07 July 2003 AIR 2004 Bom 283, II (2004) DMC 321, 2003 (4) MhLj 1019 |
No Permanent Alimony in Sec 11, Permanent Alimony may be asked in sec 12 |
Chandrakala Alias Vandana vs Subhash Dhondiba Gaokhandkar | Bombay High Court | HMA 12 1 (c) |
23 February 1994 (1994) 96 BOMLR 726 |
Wife was suffering from leprosy since prior to marriage. This material fact concealed hence Annulment. Wife may seek Alimony |
Chhandupriya @ Priyanka vs Rahul Mahod | Bombay High Court Nagpur | HMA 12 1 (c) | 17 March 2016 | Wife has a lover from prior to marriage and marriage was not consummated |
E. Shanthi vs Dr. H.K. Vasudev | Karnataka High Court | HMA 24 | 22 August 2005 AIR 2005 Kant 417, ILR 2005 KAR 4981 |
Wife was qualified and working before marriage. She is capable of earning, hence maintenance declined |
G. Padmini vs G. Sivananda Babu | Andhra High Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 11 November 1999 2000 (2) ALD 258, 2000 (2) ALT 259, II (2000) DMC 760 |
Divorce on Cruelty as wife's letter to others regarding husband's
impotency was cruelty |
G.V.N. Kameswara Rao vs G. Jabilli | Supreme Court | HMA 13 1(ia) |
10 January 2002 2002 AIR SCW 162, (2002) 2 SCC 296 |
Husband files Divorce on Mental Cruelty as Wife left husband and refused to return. Wife also filed police complaint. Wife pleaded to dismiss divorce using HMA 23(1)(a) but Divorce granted with Alimony. |
Harminder Kaur vs Gurtar Singh | Punjab and Haryana High Court | HMA 24 | 17 February 2011 |
Maintenance pendente lite and expenses of proceedings not for those who have income sufficient for support and the necessary expenses |
Havovi Kersi Sethna vs Kersi Gustad Sethna | Bombay High Court | HMA 13 | 28 January 2011 | Details on how CD can be made admissible in court |
Ines Miranda Vs Santosh K Swamy | Supreme Court | HMA 24 | 14 December 2009 | Wife (working) filed Divorce, Husband (unemployed) filed RCR. Court transfers case at Wife's city on the condition that she will pay Maintenance for jobless Husband |
Jamboo Parasad Jain vs Smt. Malti Prabha And Anr. | Allahabad High Court | HMA 15 | 24 January 1979 AIR 1979 All 260 |
HMA 15 not applicable in HMA 11 OR 12 |
Jayanti Deb Das vs Manas Kumar Das | Tripura High Court | HMA 13 1(ia) |
19 February 2015 AIR 2015 Tripura 25 |
The allegation of adultery made by the wife appellant and not proved is nothing but mental cruelty |
Jyoti Singh vs Yogendra Singh | Supreme Court | HMA 13 | 14 December 2016 | Divorce by husband was transferred to Wife's city but all cases were to be taken together |
K. Srinivas vs K. Sunita | Supreme Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 19 November 2014 (2014) 16 SCC 34 |
Wife had filed a false criminal complaint, and even one such complaint is sufficient to constitute matrimonial cruelty. Hence Divorce |
K.Srinivas Rao vs D.A. Deepa | Supreme Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 22 February 2013 (2013) 5 SCC 226 |
Divorce on Cruelty as Wife had filed a criminal complaint and sent letters to employer of husband. But with Huge Alimony |
Kamini Sondhi vs Kapil Sondhi | Delhi High Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 09 September 2016 | Sexless marriage, Wife made false complaints to husband's boss, hence Divorce on mental cruelty. |
Kavita vs Harish Raisen | Madhya Pradesh High Court | HMA 13 1(ia) |
13 April 2006 2006 (2) MPHT 515 |
Divorce on Cruelty as Wife had filed a criminal complaint |
Kiran Bala Asthana And Anr. vs Bhaire Prasad Srivastava | Allahabad High Court | HMA 12 1 (c) | 08 February 1982 AIR 1982 All 242 |
Wife was suffering from Mental Illness. This material fact concealed hence Annulment. Wife may seek Alimony. |
Kumaresan vs Aswathi | Madras High Court | HMA 24 | 21 June 2002 (2002) 2 MLJ 760 |
Sufficiently Earning wife not eligible for HMA 24 |
Kusum Sharma vs Mahinder Kumar Sharma | Delhi High Court | HMA | 14 January 2015 2014 (214) DLT 493 |
Not Good for Husbands if wife is not working. Detailed Affidavit
required for income and expenditure in matrimonial cases.
Affidavit of Assets, Income and Expenditure not mandatory to be filed along with petition or written statement, direction by Delhi High Court. December 27, 2017 |
M vs M | Bombay High Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 07 February 2014 | Divorce on Cruelty as Wife had filed a criminal complaint. Wife could not prove her allegations in WS, Option open for applying maintenance in sec 25 of HMA |
Maganti Kanakadurga vs Maganti Venkateswarlu | Andhra HC | HMA 12 1(a) |
27 April 2006 AIR 2006 AP 259, 2006 (4) ALD 411 |
consummation has not taken place and as already referred it was on account of the appellant's repugnancy for consummation and probably on account of her reluctance towards consummation due to her physical disability of not having attained puberty. |
Malathi Ravi vs B.V. Ravi | Supreme Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 30 June 2014 2014 7 SCC 640 |
Divorce on Cruelty as Wife had filed a criminal complaint. But with Huge Maintenance for Child. |
Mamta Jaiswal vs Rajesh Jaiswal | Madhya Pradesh High Court | HMA 24 | 24 March 2000 II (2000) DMC 170 |
Well qualified woman with past work experience cant sit idle and claim maintenance. |
Mangesh Balkrushna Bhoir vs Sau. Leena Mangesh Bhoir | Bombay High Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 23 December 2015 | Divorce on Cruelty as Wife had filed a criminal complaint. |
Manish Kumar vs Pratibha | Delhi High Court | HMA 24 | 18 September 2008 | No Maintenance u/s HMA 24 for working Women |
Manisha Tyagi vs Deepak Kumar | Supreme Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 10 February 2010 I (2010) DMC 451 (SC) |
Cruelty not proved, but both party were at fault hence judicial separation |
Manju Kamal Mehra vs Kamal Pushkar Mehra | Bombay High Court | HMA 9 | 18 July 2009 | Wife not entitled to maintenance as HMA 9 was in husband's favour. |
Manoj Kumar Soni vs Deepti Soni | Madhya Pradesh High Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 17 September 2014 | Divorce on Cruelty as wife makes many false allegations and also termed husband as impotent, ill treatment to husband's parents |
Manokaran @ Ramamoorthy vs M. Devaki | Madras High Court | HMA 24 | 21 February 2003 AIR 2003 Mad 212, I (2003) DMC 799, (2003) 1 MLJ 752 |
Sufficiently Earning wife not eligible for HMA 24 |
Mayadevi vs Jagdish Prasad | Supreme Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 21 February 2007 AIR 2007 SC 1426 |
1. Divorce on Cruelty as wife makes many false allegations and also termed husband as impotent, ill treatment to husband's parents. 2.Standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt not required in matrimonial disputes. |
Moina Khosla vs Amardeep Singh Khosla | Delhi High Court | HMA 12 1(a) |
31 January 1986 AIR 1986 Delhi 399, 1986 (10) DRJ 286 |
As no sexual intercourse has taken place between the parties, in this case, the requirements of Section 12(1)(a) of the Act are satisfied. |
Monika Sharma vs Kuldeep Kumar Dogra | Himachal Pradesh High Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 31 July 2015 |
Serious And Unsubstantiated Allegations Of Adultery Amount To Cruelty Offering A Ground For Divorce |
N G Dastane vs S Dastane | Supreme Court | HMA 12 1 (c) | 19 March 1975 AIR 1975 SC 1534, (1975) 2 SCC 326, 1975 3 SCR 967 |
Judgment Against Husband. Wife was guilty of Cruelty but husband condoned it, subsequent conduct of wife is not a revival of the original cause of action, so Separation denied. |
Narendra vs K.Meena | Supreme Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 06 October 2016 |
unsubstantiated allegations of relations leveled by wife and the threats and attempt to commit suicide by her amounted to mental cruelty |
Narinder Pal Kaur Vs. Manjeet Singh | Delhi High Court | HAMA | 20 September 2007 AIR 2008 Delhi 7, 148 (2008) DLT 522, I (2008) DMC 529 | Second wife entitled for Maintenance. Under HAMA section 18 |
Naveen Kohli vs Neelu Kohli | Supreme Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 21 March 2006 2006 (4) SCC 558 |
Irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. Wife filed multiple cases on husband, SC grants divorce to husband on mental cruelty ground. But high Maintenance. |
Nitin Ramesh Dhiwar vs Roopali Nitin Dhiwar | Bombay High Court | HMA 13 1(ia) |
16 August 2012 | filing of a false criminal complaint itself amounts to cruelty within the meaning of section 13(i) |
P.Kalyanasundaram vs K.Paquialatchamy | Madras High Court | HMA 25 | 10 January 2003 AIR 2004 Madras 43, (2003) 1 MLJ 669 (Division Bench) | Judgment Against Husband. Alimony can be granted even to an erring
spouse |
P.V. Gopalkrishnan vs Kanaksha Gopalkrishnan | Bombay High Court | HMA 12 1 (a), HMA 12 1 (c) | 14 July 1981 1982 (1) BomCR 454 a |
Wife was suffering from sexual disorder. This material fact concealed hence Annulment. Wife may seek Alimony. |
Padmja Sharma vs Ratan Lal Sharma | Supreme Court | HMA 26 | 28 March 2000 2000 (2) SCR 621 |
If wife is working, liability of Child to be taken care by both parents. |
Pankaj Mahajan vs Dimple @ Kajal | Supreme Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 30 November 2011 (2011) 12 SCC 1 |
giving repeated threats to commit suicide amounts to cruelty |
Pranab Kumar Chakraborty vs Kumkum Chakraborty | Calcutta High Court | HMA 13 1 (i) |
05 July 2005 (2006) 1 CAL LT 210 HC, 2005 (4) CHN 146 |
Wife filed false 498A, Husband filed for Divorce on Cruelty but got Divorce on Irretrievable broken marriage. Wife got huge Alimony. |
Preeti Jain vs Kunal Jain &Anr | Rajasthan High Court | HMA | 27 May 2016 | Privilege communication between husband and wife is admissible in family court proceedings. |
Putuli Das vs Dina Nath Talukdar | Gauhati High Court | HMA 13 1(i) | 05 February 2008 AIR 2008 Gau 74 |
One should give all the facts and grounds in pleading. Giving it
later weakens the case. |
R.Logeswari vs K.Arul Jothi | Madras High Court | HMA 12 1(c) | 20 December 2016 | Wife filed Annulment and then asked for transfer to her hometown, Wife was earlier working so Transfer request declined as she was treated as independent. |
Rajasi @ Swapna vs Shashank Dandge | Bombay High Court, Nagpur | HMA 12 1 (c), HMA 13 1(ia) | 06 January 2015 |
Annulment cum Divorce Allowed. Marriage consummated, suicidal traits in the wife so Divorce Allowed. |
Rama Kanta Vs Mohinder Laxmidas Bhandula | Punjab and Haryana High Court | HMA 12,13 1(ia) | 07 February 1995 AIR 1996 P H 98 |
Consent For Marriage Was Taken By Hiding Imp Facts, Wife was Cruel, so Annulment and Divorce was granted. |
Rameshchandra Rampratapji Daga vs Rameshwari Rameshchandra Daga | Supreme Court | HMA | 13 December 2004 AIR 2005 SC 422 |
Judgment against Husband. Maintenance under HMA 25 is applicable in HMA 9 to 13 including 11, 12 |
Rayala M. Bhuvaneswari vs Nagaphanender Rayala | Andhra High Court | HMA13 | 20 December 2007 AIR 2008 AP 98, 2008 (2) ALD 311, 2008 (1) ALT 613 |
Act of tapping itself by the husband of the conversation of his wife with others was illegal and it infringed the right of privacy of the wife. |
Renuka vs Rajendra Hada | Rajasthan High Court | HMA 12 1(a) | 18 January 2007 AIR 2007 Raj 112, RLW 2007 (3) Raj 1839 |
1.appellant expressed her unwillingness to get examined by the medical expert, learned Family Court was entitled to draw the adverse inference against her declaring the marriage of appellant and respondent as null and void 2. marriage could not be consummated owing to the hysteria or extreme sensibility of the wife and there was no question of any structural defect. |
Rita Nijhawan vs Balakishan Nijhawan | Delhi High Court | HMA | 21 February 1973 AIR 1973 Delhi 200, 9 (1973) DLT 222 |
Detailed meaning of Sex, Consummation, Intercourse and Cruelty. |
Ritu Raj Kant vs Anita | Delhi High Court | HMA 24 | 18 September 2008 154 (2008) DLT 505 |
Maintenance on actual earnings |
Rupali Gupta vs Rajat Gupta | Delhi High Court | HMA 24 | 05 September 2016 | Qualified working wife not entitled for maintenance under HMA 24 |
Sadhana Satish Kolvankar vs Satish Sachidanand Kolvankar | Bombay High Court | HMA 12 13 |
15 July 2004 2005 (2) BomCR 340, 2005 (1) MhLj 935 |
Wife refused coitus, broke Mangalsutra, filed 498A, Divorce on Cruelty, high Alimony. |
Sadhana Srivastava vs Sri Arvind Kumar Srivastava | Allahabad High Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 06 September 2005 AIR 2006 All 7, 2006 (1) AWC 177, II (2005) DMC 863 |
Divorce on Cruelty as Wife had filed a criminal complaint. But with Maintenance. |
Samar Ghosh vs. Jaya Ghosh | Supreme Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 26 March 2007 (2007) 4 SCC 511 |
Enumerated illustrations of mental cruelty in detail wrt diff country laws. |
Sangitaben Rasiklal Jaiswal vs Sanjaykumar Ratilal Jaiswal | Gujarat High Court | Hindu Marriage Act | 09 December 1999 I (2001) DMC 19, (2000) 3 GLR 297 |
1. Husband's property are irrelevant for interim maintenance unless he is drawing income from them. 2. Wife is entitled for free legal aid. She should not saddle lower middle class husband with her Litigation expenses. |
Sanjeev Gupta vs Shalini Gupta | Supreme Court | HMA 24 | 23 February 2009 | Interim maintenance increase illegal as no income proof produced |
Savita Sachin Sathone vs Sachin Matotrao Sathone | Bombay High Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 08 August 2016 | 1.It is well settled that if the material pleading is not denied or traversed, it is deemed to have been admitted. 2.wife threatening the husband of pouring kerosene on herself and of falsely implicating by making complaints against him and his family members in the Police Station, tantamount to cruelty. 3. no husband would like to hear that he was impotent for about 6 to 7 months after the marriage, if that was not true. Such an allegation would surely hurt a man's ego. |
Shakti Pershad vs Ratna Pershad | Delhi High Court | HMA 24 | 31 January 2003 2003 IAD Delhi 697, 102 (2003) DLT 756, 2003 (66) DRJ 580, 2003 RLR 176 |
HMA moveable property can not be termed as Income |
Shakuntala Kumari v. Om Prakash Ghai | Delhi High Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 06 October 1980 AIR 1983 Delhi 53, 19 (1981) DLT 64 |
False complaint by the wife to the husband's employer would amount
to mental cruelty |
Shantabai vs Tarachand | Madhya Pradesh High Court | HMA 12 1(a) |
22 April 1965 AIR 1966 MP 8 |
Although the Wife is not structurally or psychologically incapable of allowing sexual intercourse generally, yet she has an uncontrollable aversion to allowing coitus to the petitioner-husband. This case belongs to the rare variety of frigidity quoad hanc |
Shobha Rani vs Madhukar Reddi | Supreme Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 12 November 1987 1988 AIR 121, 1988 SCR (1)1010 |
Husbands parents demanded dowry which was cruelty on wife thus wife
got divorce on Cruelty. |
Subhash Chandra Das Chowdhury vs Sandhya Das Chowdhury | Calcutta High Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 18 July 2008 (2008) 3 WBLR (Cal) 815 |
Once a matrimonial suit has been filed, the wife has no right to have a force entry in the house of her husband against his will if she is provided with maintenance by the husband. |
Sudha Suhas Nandanvankar vs Suhas Ramrao Nandanvankar | Bombay High Court | HMA 12 | 15 September 2004 AIR 2005 Bom 62, 2005 (1) BomCR 591, 2004 (4) MhLj 1052 |
No Stridhan and Alimony and Annulment on Hiding Past. Marriage
expenses cant be returned. |
Sujit Kumar vs Vandana | Delhi High Court | HMA 24 | 08 September 2016 | Eleven points to consider for interim maintenance |
Sukhdev Kaur vs Ravinder Singh Grewal | Calcutta High Court | HMA 13 1(ia) |
18 July 1996 II (1997) DMC 69 |
Divorce on Cruelty |
Suman Kapur vs Sudhir Kapur | Supreme Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 07 November 2008 (2009) 1 SCC 422 |
The letters and entries in diary of wife, it was proved that there was mental cruelty on the part of the wife. |
Suman Singh vs Sanjay Singh | Delhi High Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 23 May 2013 2013 (5) RCR (Civil) 844 |
Wife's allegations of dowry harassment, 498A/ 406, DV Act proven false, her evidence doesn't prove allegations; cruelty and divorce to husband |
Sunder Singh vs Manna Sunder Singh | Punjab - Haryana High Court | HMA 24 | 28 July 1961 HMA 24 AIR 1962 Punj 127 |
Wife alleged high income and property of husband but not proof was
given by wife or husband. |
Surbhi Agrawal vs Sanjay Agrawal | Madhya Pradesh High Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 09 December 1999 AIR 2000 MP 139, I (2000) DMC 453 |
Divorce on Cruelty |
Sushila Devi vs Shri Joginder Kumar | Delhi High Court | HMA 24 | 02 July 2010 | Maintenance to be decided on Actual Earning of husband and not on his parent's properties |
Urmila Devi vs Narinder Singh | Himachal Pradesh High Court | HMA 12 | AIR 2007 HP 19, 2006 (2) ShimLC 445 | 1. Wife is psychologically impotent and the marriage has not been consummated due to this reason 2. Concealment of material fact. |
V. Bhagat vs D. Bhagat | Supreme Court | HMA 13 1 (i) | 19 September 1993 1994 AIR 710, 1994 SCC (1) 337 |
Irretrievable breakdown of the marriage |
Vandana J. Kasliwal vs Jitendra N. Kasliwal | Bombay High Court | HMA 12 1 (c) | 28 September 2006 AIR 2007 Bom 115, II (2007) DMC 227 |
Wife was suffering from schizophrenia. This material fact concealed hence Annulment. Wife may seek Alimony. |
Vidhya Viswanathan vs. Kartik Balakrishnan | AIR 2015 SC 285 | not allowing a spouse for long time to have sexual intercourse by his or her partner, without sufficient reason, itself amounted to mental cruelty, hence divorce, But with huge Alimony. | ||
Vijay Kumar Vs. Harsh Lata | Delhi High Court | HMA 24 | 10 September 2008 | Equally qualified and equally earning wife, no interim maintenance. |
Vinita Saxena vs. Pankaj Pandit | Supreme Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 21 March 2006 (2006) 3 SCC 778 |
regarding legal proposition on aspect of cruelty |
Vinny Parmar vs Paramvir Parmar | Supreme Court | HMA 25 | 20 July 2001 AIR 2011 SCC 2748 |
For permanent alimony and maintenance income and property of both, are relevant material in addition to the conduct of the parties and other circumstances of the case. |
Vishwanat vs Sarla Vishwanath Agrawal | Supreme Court | HMA 13 1(ia) | 04 July 2012 AIR 2012 S.C. 2586 |
Divorce on Cruelty but with Huge Alimony |
Domestic Violence Act Citations |
CRPC - Code of Criminal Procedure CPC Important citations, case laws |