Maintenance — Enforcement Against Property Sold by Husband · 14 January 2026
Sulochana v. Anitha: Kerala High Court Full Bench Holds Hindu Wife Can Claim Maintenance From Husband's Property Sold to a Buyer Who Knew of Her Claim
High Court of Kerala (Full Bench) · 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 29; 2026:KER:2410; ICR(Mat.A) No. 23 of 2025 in Mat.Appeal No. 1093 of 2014
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A buyer purchased 5 cents of land in 2007 from a husband who was estranged from his wife. The wife had sued for maintenance, the property was attached in November 2007, and she obtained a decree in March 2009. The buyer claimed to be a bona fide purchaser, and the Family Court refused his claim petition. On appeal, a Division Bench found conflicting Kerala decisions and referred to a Full Bench the questions whether a Hindu wife can receive maintenance from her husband's immovable property outside the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 (HAMA), and what the correct law is.
The Full Bench of Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari, P.V. Kunhikrishnan and G. Girish held that a Hindu wife is entitled to receive maintenance from the profits of her husband's property even after transfer, if the transfer was made after she started legal proceedings for maintenance, or if there is evidence the buyer knew of her claim at the time of sale. It explained that the right is dormant from marriage, becomes inchoate when she starts proceedings, and becomes a charge on the property only when a competent court declares her entitlement. It found that Section 39 of the Transfer of Property Act and Section 28 of HAMA give protection similar to a charge but do not themselves create one, and that Section 27 of HAMA is the provision dealing with creation of a charge.
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