Supreme Court: Woman Can Seek Maintenance from Second Husband Despite No Divorce from First

The Supreme Court of India has ruled that a woman is entitled to seek maintenance from her second husband even if she has not legally divorced her first husband. The apex court overturned a Telangana High Court judgment that denied maintenance on the grounds that the woman had not obtained a legal divorce from her first marriage before entering into the second one.

The petitioner had challenged the Telangana High Court’s decision, which stated that since she had not legally separated from her first husband, she was not eligible to claim maintenance from her second husband. After reviewing the case, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the petitioner.

The court held that even if a woman has not obtained a legal divorce from her first husband but is living separately and has remarried, she can still seek maintenance under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). The judgment emphasized that maintenance is not merely a benefit for the wife but a moral and legal duty of the husband.