Section 19 of Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956: Maintenance of Widowed Daughter-in-Law

Section 19 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 deals with the circumstances in which a widowed Hindu daughter-in-law may claim maintenance from her father-in-law. The right is conditional: the widow must be unable to maintain herself from the sources specified in the section, and the father-in-law's statutory obligation is itself subject to the limits stated in sub-section (2).

In brief: Section 19 does not create an unconditional personal liability on every father-in-law. The provision first looks at the widow's own earnings or property and the other sources listed in sub-section (1). It then limits enforceability against the father-in-law by reference to qualifying coparcenary property in his possession. The obligation also ends on the daughter-in-law's remarriage.

Text of Section 19 - Maintenance of widowed daughter-in-law

19. Maintenance of widowed daughter-in-law.

(1) A Hindu wife, whether married before or after the commencement of this Act, shall be entitled to be maintained after the death of her husband by her father-in-law:

Provided and to the extent that she is unable to maintain herself out of her own earnings or other property or, where she has no property of her own, is unable to obtain maintenance-

  1. from the estate of her husband or her father or mother, or
  2. from her son or daughter, if any, or his or her estate.

(2) Any obligation under sub-section (1) shall not be enforceable if the father-in-law has not the means to do so from any coparcenary property in his possession out of which the daughter-in-law has not obtained any share, and any such obligation shall cease on the re-marriage of the daughter-in-law.

Official text: Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 - India Code

What Section 19 means

The provision gives a widowed daughter-in-law a statutory right to seek maintenance from her father-in-law, but only within the framework laid down by Section 19. It is therefore important to read sub-sections (1) and (2) together rather than treating the relationship alone as sufficient to establish liability.

Conditions for claiming maintenance

  • Death of the husband: The provision operates after the death of the woman's husband.
  • Inability to maintain herself: The widow must be unable to maintain herself from her own earnings or other property.
  • Other specified sources: Where she has no property of her own, the section also considers whether maintenance can be obtained from her husband's estate, her father or mother, or her son or daughter, if any, or the estate of such son or daughter.
  • Father-in-law's means under sub-section (2): The obligation is not enforceable where the father-in-law does not have the means to provide maintenance from coparcenary property in his possession out of which the daughter-in-law has not obtained a share.
  • Remarriage: Any obligation under Section 19 ceases when the daughter-in-law remarries.

Meaning of maintenance under the Act

Section 3(b) of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act defines "maintenance". In relation to a person generally, it includes provision for food, clothing, residence, education and medical attendance and treatment. The statutory definition is relevant when considering the nature and scope of a maintenance claim under Chapter III of the Act.

Amount of maintenance

Section 23 of the Act governs determination of the amount of maintenance. The amount is not fixed by Section 19 itself. In deciding maintenance, the court considers the statutory factors applicable to the particular claim and the circumstances placed before it.

Related provisions

Section 19 forms part of Chapter III on maintenance. Depending on the facts, other provisions in the same Chapter may also be relevant, including Section 21 on dependants, Section 22 on maintenance of dependants, Section 23 on the amount of maintenance, Section 24 on the requirement that a claimant to maintenance be a Hindu, and Section 25 concerning alteration of maintenance on a material change in circumstances.

Legal information: This page explains the statutory provision for general information. Whether maintenance is payable, and its amount, depends on the facts, pleadings, evidence, property position and the applicable judicial interpretation.