Hindu Adoptions & Maintenance Act, 1956 – Chapter III, ss.18 to 28 – Maintenance – Widow daughter-in-law – A daughterin-law became widow after death of her father-in-law – She is dependent upon the estate of father-in-law – Whether she is entitled to claim maintenance from her father-in-law’s estate – Whether the words “any widow of his son” would mean “widow of his predeceased son” only:
Held: In view of the language so used in s.21(vii) of the Act and guided by the settled principles, there is hardly any scope to interpret that the words “any widow of his son” used therein would mean “widow of his predeceased son” only – The courts cannot add or subtract any word from the text of the statute – Any such restrictive interpretation would fail the test of constitutional validity u/Art.14 of the Constitution – The classification sought to be made between widowed daughters-in-law based solely on the timing of the husband’s death, namely, (a) those whose husbands died during the lifetime of the father-in-law, and (b) those whose husbands died after him; is manifestly unreasonable and arbitrary – Any interpretation contrary to one opined above, would also infringe upon Art.21 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to life with dignity – Denying maintenance to a widowed daughter-inlaw from the estate of her deceased father-in-law on a narrow or technical construction of the statute would expose her to destitution and social marginalization, thereby offending her fundamental right to live with dignity – The provisions of the Act must, therefore, be read purposively and in conformity with constitutional values, so as to advance social justice and protect the dignity of vulnerable dependants rather than defeat it – The Act does not envisage to rule out the above obligation of the father-in-law to maintain his widowed daughter-in-law, irrespective of the fact when she became a widow whether prior or after his death – s.19 of the Act simply contemplates that a Hindu wife is entitled to be maintained after the death of her husband by her father-in-law – Whereas, s.22 contemplates “maintenance of dependants” including “widowed daughter-in-law” from the estate of her father-in-law meaning thereby that a claim u/s.22 can be raised only after the death of the father-in-law – This Court is clearly of the opinion that “any widow of the son” of a deceased Hindu is a dependant within the meaning of s.21(vii) of the Act and is entitled to claim maintenance u/s.22 of the Act. [Paras 22, 23, 24, 26, 28, 29]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Ankit Gyan. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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