Alimony is a measure of social justice—it is something the courts of the land have reiterated over the years. Yet, in public perception it is often seen and described as an extortionate demand by an avaricious ex-wife, more so amid the global backlash against hard-won progress achieved by the women’s movement. There is no doubt that divorce proceedings often become unpleasant, even devolving into a flurry of criminal cases and counter cases levelled by partners against each other. However, the reality of the woman being more often than not the more vulnerable party at these proceedings and after a divorce is obscured by headlines touting astronomical alimony demands in high-profile cases. Such cases are the exception, not the norm. This framing not only adds to the stigma faced by many divorced women in India, but invisibilises the long struggle faced by many women to attain a verdict for a reasonable alimony and to ensure it is actually paid out.
It does not help that despite the Supreme Court having laid out and reiterated the broad factors to decide on maintenance, various courts continue speak in different tongues on the matter. The SC’s criteria include the status of the parties, needs of dependent wife and children, qualifications and employment of both parties, and employment sacrifices made for the family. Yet, even on the matter of maintenance for an employed woman, the courts continue to differ. Effectively, this has made the process and award of maintenance and alimony appear opaque, arbitrary, and uncertain. This leaves most women at further disadvantage, forced to pursue cases for long years while trying to make ends meet. This is unfair given that many more women leave the workforce to meet family responsibilities and raise children. It is they who mostly face career setbacks to undertake a lion’s share of child and elder care. So it is essential for the SC to go beyond mere reiteration of progressive principles and guidelines on the matter, and actively educate the rest of the judiciary on the spirit and meaning of the law and the apex court’s own interventions aimed at ensuring meaningful social justice.