Bengaluru: Permanent alimony is not intended to equalise the assets or wealth of the parties, but to ensure that the wife is able to maintain herself with reasonable dignity and in accordance with the circumstances of th…

Bengaluru: Permanent alimony is not intended to equalise the assets or wealth of the parties, but to ensure that the wife is able to maintain herself with reasonable dignity and in accordance with the circumstances of the case, the Karnataka HC observed in a recent judgement. A division bench comprising Justices DK Singh and H Shanthi Bhushan said this while reducing the permanent alimony amount to Rs 50 lakh from Rs 2 crore awarded involving a marital dispute between two doctors.’Talaq-E-Hassan’ valid form of divorce, to be registered under new Act: Gauhati HC The couple were classmates and married in 2011. They relocated to the UK and lived there for some time and have two daughters. After the relationship turned sour, the wife moved the family court seeking divorce on the ground of cruelty. On June 20, 2026, the family court granted divorce and ordered the husband to pay Rs 2 crore to the wife as permanent alimony and Rs 25,000 per month to each of the minor daughters as maintenance with Rs 5,000 increase in this amount once in two years.The husband challenged this order, including Rs 2 crore permanent alimony. It was claimed that the family court had fixed the lump sum amount without any intelligible methodology. It was argued that it amounted in substance to an impermissible equalisation of wealth rather than a fair and needs-based determination of permanent alimony.After perusing the materials on record, the division bench noted that some of the WhatsApp communications relied upon by the wife contain admissions and expressions of regret on the part of the husband regarding his conduct. The bench pointed out that there is no occasion to interfere with the order dissolving the marriage between the parties.’Wife cannot be expected to behave like Vodafone pug’: Madras High Court grants divorce to couple Insofar as the permanent alimony, the division bench noted that the purpose of permanent alimony is to prevent destitution or undue financial hardship and not to provide a windfall or an amount which would place the recipient in a financially superior position. “The fact that the respondent (husband) may have a higher income cannot, by itself, justify a disproportionate lump sum award. The amount must bear a reasonable relationship to the actual needs of the wife and the paying capacity of the husband, without placing an unreasonable financial burden upon him,” the bench said.The bench directed the husband to deposit Rs 25,000 per month to each child and that the amount shall be enhanced by Rs 5,000 per month for each child every year. “Both parties shall bear in mind that, notwithstanding the dissolution of their matrimonial relationship, they continue to be the parents of the children. They shall, therefore, refrain from making disparaging remarks against each other in the presence or hearing of the children and shall make every endeavour to ensure that the children are able to maintain a loving, healthy and unhindered relationship with both parents,” the bench said.

Source: Deccan Herald