Aswathy Jayaraj, LLM, National University of Advanced Legal Studies
ABSTRACT
The wife’s right of maintenance is a customary as well as a statutorily recognized right in India. It will not be absurd to say that the very cropping up of such right is a testament to the state of distress that the women have been experiencing due to the patriarchal set up in India and else-where. The whole world is in a state of transition doing away with this patriarchal attitude marching forward towards a more gender-neutral approach. Women are receiving education, being employed, being entrepreneurs, progressing and reaching heights in their respective levels. The Indian judiciary too, through it’s remarkable judgements have catalysed the stride towards gender neutrality. However, in certain instances, especially with regards to maintenance, the judiciary has taken a complete U-turn in it’s stance.
The author, through the paper aims at presenting a general overview into the niche issue of the conflicting stands that the judiciary takes while interpreting the status of women- sometimes as a strong and independent individual and sometimes, as a mere dependent upon the man. The author analyses the latter part in connection with the approach of the judiciary in maintenance cases.
