Introduction 

• Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA) states the provisions for maintenance pendente lite and expenses of proceedings. 
• Maintenance is a human right along with a legal right. 
• Section 24 of HMA basically provides for temporary maintenance to the spouse during the pendency of litigation. 

Meaning of Maintenance 

• It is financial support aided by the father or the husband towards his children or wife respectively.  
• The maintenance is also known as alimony, which refers to the payment against the expenses and all the necessities of the dependents.  
• The maintenance shall be granted irrespective of the parties living together or not and irrespective if the divorce has been granted or not as per Hindu Laws. 

Meaning of Pendente lite 

• The term "pendente lite" means “pending the litigation” or “during the pendency of the case”. 
• The said section governs interim maintenance to support livelihood and necessary expenses of any proceeding under HMA in case of insufficient or no independent income. 

Meaning of Maintenance Pendente Lite 

• Maintenance Pendente Lite means providing living expenses and financial support to the wife and children while the suit is pending between the parties. 
• The provision provides a gender-neutral right to apply this remedy to both husbands and wives, as the case may be. 

Fundamentals of the Section 24 of HMA 

• Expenses of Proceedings: 
  • Section 24 governs the expenses occurring during the pendency of the proceedings under HMA. 
  • These expenses include the fees of lawyers, court fees, stamp duties, traveling expenses and other related expenditures. 
  • The objective is to ensure that the financially weaker spouse can effectively participate in the legal process without being burdened by the associated costs. 
• Discretion of the Court: 
  • The power to grant maintenance pendente lite and expenses of proceedings is merely a discretionary power vested in the Court. 
  • This discretion allows the court to consider the individual circumstances of the case and make a fair and just determination regarding the amount of maintenance and expenses to be awarded. 
  • The court adjudges the sufficiency of income, assets, and needs of both parties while granting the maintenance under this Section. 
• Temporary Nature: 
  • It is important to note that the maintenance awarded under Section 24 is temporary in nature. 
  • It is intended to provide financial support only during the pendency of the legal proceedings. 
  • The Court has the discretion to decide on granting final maintenance while concluding the case. 

Provisions of Section 24 of the HMA 

• It states that: 
  • When under any proceeding any of the spouse has no independent income sufficient to proceed with the litigation proceedings then the court may order the respondent to pay the expenses of the proceedings to the petitioner and to pay a sum considering the income of the respondent to maintain the petitioner. 
  • It is provided that the application of the petitioner under this section be disposed of within 60 days from the date of service of notice on the respondent. 

Difference Between Section 24 of HMA & Section 125 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC):

Landmark Judgements 

• Mamta Jaiswal v. Rajesh Jaiswal (2000): 
  • The HC while declining maintenance to a highly qualified wife held that Section 24 of HMA has been enacted for the purpose of providing monetary assistance to either spouse who is incapable of supporting himself or herself in spite of sincere efforts. 
    • However, the law does not expect persons engaged in the legal battles to remain idle solely with the objective of squeezing out money from the opposite party. 
  • The court further said that “Section 24 of HMA is not meant to create an Army of idle people waiting for a dole to be awarded by the other spouse”. 
• Rupali Gupta v. Rajat Gupta (2016): 
  • The division bench of Delhi HC deprecated the claim of maintenance under Section 24 of HMA by a well-qualified spouse having an earning capacity. 
• ABC v. XYZ (2024):  
  • In this case it was held that if the husband fails to take the wife back to the matrimonial home in the absence of a stay on the decree for restitution of conjugal rights, then it would be open to the wife to seek interim maintenance for herself. 
• X v. Y (2024):  
  • In this case the Delhi High Court (HC) has emphasized that the possession of a graduation degree by the wife should not automatically lead to the presumption that she is purposefully refraining from employment solely to secure interim maintenance. 

Conclusion 

Section 24 of the HMA provides interim relief to the spouse who has no source to maintain himself/herself or to bear the expenses of the litigation. The spouse needs to make an application to the court for such reliefs and the court within the given time needs to dispose of the application. This section also fulfils the requirement of Article 39 of the Constitution which ensures equal livelihood to both man and woman.