Section 22 Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act - Maintenance of Dependants
Section 22 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 deals with the duty of heirs of a deceased Hindu to maintain the deceased person's dependants from the estate inherited by those heirs.
- The obligation is linked to the estate inherited from the deceased Hindu.
- A dependant who receives no share by testamentary or intestate succession may claim maintenance from persons who take the estate.
- Each recipient's liability is proportionate to the value of the share or part of the estate received.
- A dependant who also inherits is protected from contribution where contribution would reduce his or her share below the maintenance that would be awardable under the Act.
What does "maintenance" mean under the Act?
Section 3(b) gives "maintenance" a broad meaning. It includes provision for food, clothing, residence, education, and medical attendance and treatment. In the case of an unmarried daughter, it also includes reasonable expenses of and incident to her marriage.
Who is a "dependant" for Section 22?
Section 22 must be read with Section 21, which defines the relatives who are treated as "dependants" of a deceased Hindu for Chapter III of the Act. The right under Section 22 therefore applies to persons who fall within that statutory definition, subject to the conditions attached to the relevant category.
Section 22 - Maintenance of dependants
22. Maintenance of dependants.
(1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), the heirs of a deceased Hindu are bound to maintain the dependants of the deceased out of the estate inherited by them from the deceased.
(2) Where a dependant has not obtained, by testamentary or intestate succession, any share in the estate of a Hindu dying after the commencement of this Act, the dependant shall be entitled, subject to the provisions of this Act, to maintenance from those who take the estate.
(3) The liability of each of the persons who takes the estate shall be in proportion to the value of the share or part of the estate taken by him or her.
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2) or sub-section (3), no person who is himself or herself a dependant shall be liable to contribute to the maintenance of others, if he or she has obtained a share or part the value of which is, or would, if the liability to contribute were enforced, become less than what would be awarded to him or her by way of maintenance under this Act.
How Section 22 works
1. Liability follows inherited estate
Sub-section (1) places the obligation on the heirs of the deceased Hindu, but the maintenance is to be provided out of the estate inherited from the deceased. The provision therefore connects the obligation with succession to the deceased's estate.
2. Dependant receiving no share may claim maintenance
Under sub-section (2), where a dependant receives no share in the estate through a will or intestate succession, that dependant may claim maintenance from the persons who take the estate. The entitlement remains subject to the other provisions of the Act.
3. Liability is proportionate to the inherited share
Sub-section (3) distributes the burden according to the value of the estate taken by each person. A person who receives a larger share may therefore bear a correspondingly larger part of the maintenance liability.
4. Protection where an heir is also a dependant
Sub-section (4) protects a person who is himself or herself a dependant. Such a person need not contribute to the maintenance of other dependants if doing so would reduce the value of his or her inherited share below the amount that would be awardable to that person as maintenance under the Act.
Related provisions
Section 22 does not operate in isolation. Section 23 deals with determination of the amount of maintenance. Section 24 addresses the requirement that a claimant to maintenance should be a Hindu. Sections 25 to 28 deal respectively with alteration of maintenance, priority of debts, when maintenance may be a charge, and the effect of transfer of property on the right to maintenance.
Official text and verification
The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 is Central Act 78 of 1956. For the official statutory text and current consolidated version, refer to India Code.
Official Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 - India Code
This page is an informational presentation of Section 22 and related provisions. For a specific dispute, the facts, succession documents, nature and value of the estate, and applicable judicial decisions may require separate examination.