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Court observed that since a mother is a successor to her deceased Hindu daughter in absence of the daughter's children, she can also collect arrears of alimony which is a heritable property.
The Madras High Court recently observed that since in view of Section 15(1)(c) of the Hindu Succession Act, the mother is entitled to the property of her deceased daughter, therefore, she will also be entitled to the arrears of maintenance accrued till the death of her divorced daughter.
The bench of Justice V Sivagnanam said that Section 14 of the Hindu Succession Act makes it clear that the arrears of maintenance is the property including both movable and immovable property acquired by a Hindu under a decree.
As the arrears of maintenance have accrued due, it would be in the nature of the property which is heritable but a right to future maintenance is however not transferable or heritable by virtue of Section 6(dd) of the Transfer of Property Act, the single judge bench, however, highlighted.
The court was dealing with a plea filed by a man against the decision of the Judicial Magistrate who had allowed his ex-wife's mother to recover the arrears of maintenance amount of Rs.6,22,500.
The man and his ex-wife got a divorce decree in the year 2005. Thereafter, the man's ex-wife filed a maintenance case in 2014, in which, in the year 2021, the Judicial Magistrate allowed her monthly maintenance of Rs.7,500 payable from the date of petition i.e. from the year 2014.
The arrears of the maintenance amounted to Rs.6,37,500. Man's ex-wife then filed a plea for collecting the arrears of maintenance, however, pending that petition, she died. Thereafter, her mother sought impleadment in the matter which the Judicial Magistrate allowed.
Against the decision of the Judicial Magistrate, the man moved the high court. His counsel argued that maintenance is the personal right of a wife, which, on her death, extinguishes.
He contended that since the right to claim maintenance would not have survived on the death of man's ex-wife, her mother was not competent to continue the proceedings and was also not entitled to claim arrears of maintenance.
On the other hand, the counsel for the ex-mother-in-law argued that the arrears amount of the maintenance were the asset of the deceased ex-wife, therefore, by virtue of Hindu Succession Act, Section 15(i)(c) under which a mother has been held successor to her deceased daughter in the absence of daughter's children, the mother in the present case was also entitled to the receive the arrears of maintenance till the death of her daughter.
Court opined that the judge below had rightly allowed the impleadment of the mother of deceased ex-wife of the man. Accordingly, court dismissed the man's plea.
Case Title: Annadurai v. Jaya
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