WHEN MARRIAGE ENDS, WHAT REMAINS? Reconstructing the Legal Logic of Post-Marital Maintenance

In India, the breaking of a marriage does not occur in isolation; rather, it involves some fundamental issues of economic justice, dependency, and legal accountability. The provision of post-marital maintenance or alimony is the primary legal means by which the economic repercussions of divorce can be addressed. Its normative bases are, however, often overshadowed in public debate. Patriarchal perspectives usually view maintenance as a device of exploitation and economic blackmail on men, whereas the counter-perspective is more concerned about the problems faced by women without considering doctrine. This paper contends that such an ideological perspective distorts the legal nature of maintenance. Indian family law, through provisions in the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Section 144 of BNSS), and judicial decision-making, views maintenance basically as a corrective measure aimed at addressing economic disadvantage resulting from marriage. Through an analysis of doctrinal development from the need-driven approach of subsistence to the more sophisticated and equitable system, the paper highlights how the consideration of contributions, capacity, and dignity has become an increasingly significant feature of courts' rulings in post-marital maintenance cases, such as in Rajnesh v. Neha (2020). The paper argues that post-marital maintenance should be seen as neither a punitive nor a gendered right but rather as compensation for correcting economic imbalances brought about by marriage.