Maintenance

According to the 1961 Act, sustenance means means of food, clothing and shelter for subsistence. Expenses for education, all that is necessary for physical and mental nourishment are included in this definition. It has nothing to do with the financial strength of the husband and does not affect the rights of the wife. The law makes the maintenance of the wife mandatory for the husband. To get this right, the wife must live with the husband. In this case the law has also made some exceptions and only in those cases the wife will be entitled to maintenance even if she is not living with her husband. The exceptions are:

1. If the husband habitually mistreats the wife, kicks her out of the house or conspires to kick her out, and the relationship between them reaches a point where staying together is likely to lead to further difficulties. 

2. If the husband fails to pay the wife’s demand for her immediate dowry, the wife will get maintenance even if she lives separately from the husband