Right of Maintenance of Wife – An Overview with Remedial Suggestions as to Desirable Changes in Law

Despite the right of maintenance for wife and children enshrined in various statutory provisions, owing to the protracted nature of legal proceedings, the wife and children often have to suffer tremendous hardship by the time the courts pass the final order granting maintenance. The judicial trend to widen the ambit of maintenance laws so as to fulfill the intention of legislature in enacting these beneficial provisions is worth appreciation but still a lot has to be done to provide social justice to women and enable her to live with dignity as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The present paper besides highlighting the judicial trend lays down certain remedial suggestions as to desirable changes in the present law of maintenance.