Karnataka High Court grants Rs 25 lakh permanent alimony to wife in ‘dead marriage’

The Karnataka High Court recently ruled in favor of a Bengaluru couple who claimed their marriage had "lost its significance and efficacy", and that their relationship had "died" with no surviving connection between them. The court ordered the husband to pay his wife a permanent alimony of Rs 25 lakh, to be paid in five equal installments of Rs 5 lakh each, starting from September.

Both parties submitted to the court that their marriage had become unbearable, with the husband stating that his wife was never happy living with his parents, and that the bitterness between them grew until they started living separately in May 2016. The wife, on the other hand, claimed her in-laws were against the marriage due to her belonging to a Scheduled Caste, and that they never ate the food she prepared out of respect for her caste.

The family court had already granted the husband's petition for divorce in December 2021, but the wife appealed, claiming that he earned Rs 20,000 at the time of their marriage in 2013 while she earned around Rs 1 lakh, which was more than his salary. The high court noted that the husband offered to pay a permanent alimony of Rs 15 lakh in three monthly installments, but the wife insisted on Rs 40 lakh.

Ultimately, the court directed the husband to pay Rs 25 lakh as permanent alimony in five equal installments, with failure to do so resulting in the wife seeking a decree for payment.