Allahabad High Court ruled the husband’s maintenance obligation continues post-death, allowing the widow to claim from the father-in-law under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act.
Justices Arindam Sinha and Satya Veer Singh affirmed that Sections 19 & 21 of HAMA protect widowed daughters-in-law unable to sustain themselves from the husband’s estate, parents, or children.
The court rejected the husband’s appeal against the wife’s maintenance claim despite alleged affidavit discrepancies. Onus remains on the claimant to disprove employment; father’s gifts don’t negate need.
Ruling reaffirms Sanatana responsibility, where the father-in-law maintains the son’s widow, preserving pativrata dignity until remarriage or self-sufficiency through ancestral property shares.
