Right to Maintenance – A Pre-Existing Right

In V. Tulasamma v. Sesha Reddy, (1977) 3 SCC 99, it was held that Hindu Women’s right to maintenance is the personal obligation so far as the husband is concerned and it is the duty to maintain her even if he has no property. The right to maintenance is a pre-existing right. If the husband has property then the right of the widow to maintenance becomes an equitable charge on the property and any person who succeeds to the property carries with it the legal obligation to maintain the widow.

It was further held that the claim for the right to maintenance possessed by a Hindu family is legally a substitute of a share which she would have got in the property of her husband. Basanti Devi v. Rati Ram, 2018 (131) ALR 269.