Marriage is a union and social and legal contract between two individuals
that connects their lives legally, financially and emotionally. When they get
married they take a vow to take care of each other in good and bad times to
bring peace and prosperity in the married life.
A wife and a husband have equal responsibility, but the husband is bound to maintain his wife after providing her with food, comfortable accommodation, clothes, medicines and other basic amenities of life.
The Constitution of India has provided equal rights to women , and they can get these rights even after their marriage , but unfortunately most of the women are unaware of their legal rights.
According
to Indian law, after marriage a woman has the following legal rights:-
Right
to live:
A
wife has a legal right to live in a matrimonial home whether the house is owned
by her husband or his parents, ancestral property, self acquired property,
rented property or joint family house and even owned by her She has the right
to live in the in-laws' house even after the death of her husband.
In
case of violation of her right or if any harm is caused to her physically,
mentally or emotionally, she has the right to file a complaint under the
provisions of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
Right
of Stridhan:
Stridhan
is the property that a wife receives from her family, the family of her husband
or relatives or friends at the time of marriage.
According
to the Supreme Court, a wife has absolute ownership rights over all her
Stridhan, gifts and jewelry, money, given before and after marriage and this
right continues even after separation from her husband.
Section
27 of the Hindu Marriage Act, makes a Hindu wife the absolute owner of Stridhan
and gifts, jewelry received at the time of marriage, and if her husband or any
other member of his family who is in possession of Stridhan, dishonestly,
improperly refuses to returns to her, then they may be liable to punishment for
the offense of criminal breach of trust under sections 405 and 406 of the Indian
Penal Code.
Right
of Maintenance:
Maintenance
is the right of every legally married wife, and even a divorced wife or a
separated wife can claim maintenance/alimony up to 25% of her husband's net
income, and the husband cannot refuse to pay alimony on the ground that she is
earning unless she earns more than her husband.
A
wife has the right to claim decent living standards and basic comforts of life
from her husband, and for claiming the maintenance a wife can file a petition
before the family court under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code, and
her husband is under obligation to provide the maintenance to her at any cost
whether he is working or not.
Out
of Section 125 of CrPc, if a Hindu wife is not having any source of income and
unable to maintain herself and her children, then she can claim interim &
Permanent Maintenance from her husband under the following provisions of the
Act:
➤Under Section 25 of the
Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
➤Under Section 18 of the
Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956
➤Under Section 36 of the
Special Marriage Act, 1954
Right
to Mehr (For Muslim wife):
The
gift or dower given to a Muslim wife at the time of marriage by the husband is
referred as Mehr, and it is the legal right of the wife .It can be in the form
of Jewellery, property or in cash.
The
Mehr is the sole property of the wife and neither parents nor any other
relative have any right over it.
Sometimes,
when the husband is at the deathbed, then his wife asked for forgive him for
the payment of Mehr, but it never extinguish and remain a debt on the husband
throughout his life , and after his death his legal heirs inherit this debt and
are bound to pay the Mehr to her, and even after the death of wife her heirs
can demand it.
A
Muslim marriage is not considered as valid without the Mehr, and if it was not
agreed at the time of marriage, then the Court can decide the amount of Mehr in
favor of wife after taking into consideration the financial status of husband
and other supporting factors.
Hence,
Mehr is a right of a Muslim wife, and if this amount is not paid by the husband
then wife can file a case against him for the recovery of Mehr amount, and
divorce (Talaq) is also considered invalid if this amount is not paid to her.
Muslim
wife Right to Maintenance after Divorce:
A
Muslim wife is entitled to get maintenance from her husband even after Divorce,
and according to Section 3 of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on
Divorce) Act, the liability of husband is not limited to Iddat period.
Supreme
Court of India in the matter of Begum Subanu @ Saira Banu & Another Versus
A.M. Abdul Gafoor , 1987 AIR 1103 held that , If the husband does second
marriage , then his first wife would be entitled to claim maintenance . A
Muslim wife is entitled to file a suit for maintenance in a Civil Court under
her personal law if her husband neglects to maintain her without any lawful
justification. She is also entitled to claim maintenance if she is in urgent
need of the amount , and for getting the maintenance she can file an
application under the Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code,1973 before
the Family Court, and the Court may direct her husband to provide monthly
allowance not exceeding Rs.5000/- for the maintenance to his wife.
Right
to Child Maintenance:
A
wife is entitled to claim maintenance for her child if the children are in care
and custody of wife or if custody of the child has been awarded to her legally
during the divorce proceeding, and it is the duty of husband to provide
financial support to her.
Right
to live with Dignity and Self-Respect:
A
wife has her legal right to live with dignity and self-respect in her
matrimonial home with the same lifestyle which her husband and in-laws are
enjoying.
A
daughter-in-law should be treated as a member of the family with warmth and
affection and not as a stranger. She must not be treated as a house maid, and
if she is subjected to physical or mental torture and treated below her dignity
then she can take legal action against her husband and in-law.
Right
to the Property:
A wife has right to claim equal share in the property left by her deceased husband , and if there is no other legal heirs except her then she has full right of the entire property of her husband.
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