Maintenance — Post-Divorce & Major Child · 10 September 2026
Samar Paul v. Jyotsna Paul: Divorce Does Not End Maintenance to a Former Wife, But a Healthy Major Daughter Cannot Claim It
High Court at Calcutta · CRR 1438 of 2024
Download the full judgment (PDF)
Enter your name and WhatsApp number to get the download link. We'll also let you know on WhatsApp if we can help with this case — filing, tracking, or anything else — no obligation either way.
We use this only to send the link and to follow up about this case. See our privacy policy.
A husband obtained an ex parte decree of divorce in June 2022; his wife's application to have that decree set aside remained pending. She and the couple's daughter had separately been receiving interim maintenance since 2019 — ₹1,500 for the wife and ₹2,000 for the daughter — under Section 125 CrPC. The husband filed a revision petition arguing that the divorce had ended his obligation to maintain his wife, and separately that the daughter, who had turned 18 in October 2017 (before the maintenance case was even filed in 2019) and had no physical or mental disability, was not entitled to maintenance either.
The Calcutta High Court partly allowed the husband's revision. On the wife's claim, it held that Explanation (b) to Section 125(1) CrPC specifically includes a divorced woman who has not remarried within the definition of "wife," so a divorce decree obtained by the husband does not by itself end his obligation to maintain her. On the daughter's claim, however, the Court held that under Section 125(1)(c), a major child can only claim maintenance if unable to support themselves because of a physical or mental abnormality — and since the daughter was an adult in good health when the case was filed, her claim could not be sustained, relying on the Supreme Court's ruling in Abhilasha v. Prakash.
General information, not legal advice. This is a plain-language summary for awareness only. Every case turns on its own facts, and this judgment does not decide how a court will rule in your matter. For advice on your own case, speak to an independent advocate — MyCaseFile is not a law firm and does not interpret judgments for anyone's case.