Anamika Jain v. Atul Jain -Matrimonial - Maintenance - Educated Wife
Maintenance - When a marriage breaks down, the obligation of the husband to ensure that the wife is able to live with dignity does not come to an end merely on the ground that she is educated or has parental support. Post-divorce, the wife is entitled to live a life consistent with the standard of living she was accustomed to during the subsistence of the marriage. [Context: Supreme Court enhanced the permanent alimony to Rs. 30,000 per monthfrom the date of filing of the SLP (02.07.2021) and directed payment of arrears of Rs. 8,10,000 for July 2021–January 2026 in lump sum or in instalments over four years.]
Marriage - Marriage, as an institution in our society, is founded on emotional bonding, companionship, and mutual support, which cannot be evaluated in purely monetary terms. A woman often enters matrimony with legitimate aspirations of a stable and dignified life.
Case Info
Here’s the structured information from the judgment:
Basic Case Details
Case name: Anamika Jain v. Dr. Atul Jain
Neutral citation: Not mentioned in the text provided (only cause-title and appeal/SLP numbers are given).
Court: Supreme Court of India, Civil Appellate Jurisdiction
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice S.V.N. Bhatti and Hon’ble Mr. Justice R. Mahadevan
Judgment date: 28 January 2026
Statutes / Laws Referred
The judgment deals with:
- Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 – Section 13 (dissolution of marriage by decree of divorce)
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – Section 125 (maintenance)
- Constitution of India – Article 142 (guidelines in Rajnesh v. Neha framed under this Article)
Case Law and Citations Referred
- Bhuwan Mohan Singh v. Meena and others, (2015) 6 SCC 353
- Rajnesh v. Neha and another, (2021) 2 SCC 324
- Manish Jain v. Akanksha Jain, (2017) 15 SCC 801 : (2018) 2 SCC (Civ) 712
- Jasbir Kaur Sehgal v. District Judge, Dehradun, (1997) 7 SCC 7
- Vinny Parmvir Parmar v. Parmvir Parmar, (2011) 13 SCC 112 : (2012) 3 SCC (Civ) 290
- Shailja v. Khobbanna, (2014) 16 SCC 715 : (2015) 3 SCC (Civ) 753 : (2015) 3 SCC (Cri) 589
- Chaturbhuj v. Sita Bai, (2008) 2 SCC 316 : (2008) 1 SCC (Civ) 547 : (2008) 1 SCC (Cri) 356
- Vipul Lakhanpal v. Pooja Sharma, 2015 SCC OnLine HP 1252 : 2015 Cri LJ 3451
Brief Summary (Three Sentences)
The Supreme Court considered a wife’s challenge limited to the quantum of permanent alimony of Rs. 15,000 per month granted upon dissolution of marriage under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Relying on precedents such as Bhuwan Mohan Singh and Rajnesh v. Neha, the Court held that a wife is entitled to live with dignity and in a manner consistent with the standard of living during marriage, and that the husband had sufficient earning capacity to pay more. Accordingly, the Court