New Delhi: In a significant judgment delivered on Tuesday, the Supreme Court extended crucial relief to widowed daughters-in-law by affirming their right to claim maintenance from their father-in-law’s property under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956.
The apex court observed that classical Hindu law, including principles reflected in Manusmriti, clearly emphasises that a person must not abandon their parents, spouse, or children, and any failure to fulfil this duty attracts moral and legal consequences. Relying on this foundational principle, the court ruled that a widowed daughter-in-law is entitled to maintenance from her father-in-law’s estate, subject to conditions laid down under the law.
The core issue before the court was whether a widowed daughter-in-law could claim maintenance only if she became a widow during her father-in-law’s lifetime, or whether the right would still exist if she was widowed after his death. The petitioner had argued that once the father-in-law had passed away, the widowed daughter-in-law could not seek maintenance from his property.
Rejecting this contention outright, a bench comprising Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice S.V.N. Bhatti held that drawing a distinction between widowed daughters-in-law based on the timing of their husband’s death was “irrational, arbitrary, and unconstitutional.” The court clarified that in both scenarios—whether the daughter-in-law becomes a widow during the father-in-law’s lifetime or after his death—her right to maintenance remains intact.
Referring specifically to Section 22 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, the bench explained that the provision mandates the maintenance of dependants of a deceased Hindu from the estate left behind. The term “dependants,” the court noted, expressly includes a widowed daughter-in-law, making all legal heirs responsible for ensuring her financial support from the deceased’s property.
The court further underlined that sons and other legal heirs carry not only a statutory obligation but also a moral duty to maintain dependants whom the deceased was legally and ethically bound to support. Consequently, upon the death of a son, the father-in-law (or his estate) is obligated to support the widowed daughter-in-law, provided she is unable to maintain herself from the property left behind by her husband.
The ruling is expected to have far-reaching implications in strengthening the financial security and dignity of widowed women within the framework of Hindu personal law.
