One of my clients recently had a case which I am explaining below and if you are stuck in such similar situation, here is what to do.
Note: Due to attorney-client privilege, I cannot disclose complete case details or identify the actual parties involved. However, I am sharing the essential facts and legal approach so that if you find yourself in a similar situation, you can understand the available solutions and legal remedies.
TL;DR: Alimony in divorce in India is not a fixed percentage of anyone's salary. Courts weigh both spouses' incomes, their assets, and the lifestyle the couple actually lived, which means your FDs, PF and mutual funds are very much on the table. Moving savings into a parent's name before you separate usually makes things worse, not better.
In April 2025, Nikhil Bansal came home to find the wardrobe half empty. They had married in February 2022 in Pune. Three years later, there was more silence in that rented two-bedroom flat than conversation. No children. No car. Two maids, rent of about thirty thousand a month that he had paid from the first day, and weekend dinners out that he almost always settled.
He did what most people do first. A friend sent him to a general practitioner, who told him to file a mutual consent divorce and keep it simple. That advice went nowhere. Shruti's earnings were a subject she simply refused to discuss, even when a mediator asked.
So he approached the Chamber of Advocate Sudhir Rao. The first instruction was blunt. Stop moving money. Stop discussing the marriage on WhatsApp. Start collecting documents. Rent receipts, bank statements, salary slips, and the recordings he had been sitting on for months without any plan for them.
Advocate Sudhir Rao and his office then built the case around disclosed incomes on both sides, not around the husband's salary alone, which is where these matters are usually won or lost. The interim maintenance figure that emerged was far below what Nikhil had spent eight months dreading. Familiarity with this specific area of matrimonial law made that difference.
Key Facts of the Case
- Marriage of about three years, no children, both spouses employed and separately earning.
- Husband's income around thirty-five lakh a year; wife's income never disclosed, with her own stated figure years out of date.
- Rented accommodation with the husband paying rent throughout, plus household help and most day-to-day expenses.
- Savings held as fixed deposits, provident fund and mutual funds, all in the husband's name.
- Separate recordings and chats existed, but had never been organised or authenticated.
- Earlier advice from a general practitioner produced no movement in negotiations.
- Both parties confirmed they did not intend to remarry.
Divorce Alimony: The Direct Legal Answer
How much alimony should I be prepared for?
There is no formula. Courts look at the husband's net income, the wife's income and earning capacity, the standard of living during the marriage, the duration, and any separate assets. In Rajnesh v. Neha, 2021, the Supreme Court required both sides to file affidavits disclosing assets and liabilities, and made clear that no fixed percentage applies. What you pay is argued, not calculated.
Do my FD, PF and mutual funds affect the amount?
Yes. Accumulated savings and investments are disclosed and can be treated as capacity to pay, though courts usually avoid wiping out long-term savings in one order.
Can I transfer savings to my mother's name before separation?
You can transfer your own property, but doing it specifically to defeat a maintenance claim is a bad plan. Courts see the timing, and it invites adverse inference and messy litigation over the transfer itself.
Will I be arrested?
Not for filing or defending a divorce or maintenance case. Arrest risk appears only if a criminal complaint, usually cruelty or dowry allegations, is filed. Even then, Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar, 2014, restricts automatic arrest in offences punishable up to seven years, and anticipatory bail can be sought under Section 482 BNSS.
What evidence is actually useful?
Income proof on both sides first. Then threats, abusive messages and recordings, properly preserved. Adultery no longer is a crime after Joseph Shine v. Union of India, 2018, but remains a ground for divorce under Section 13(1)(i) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
Advice in Such Cases
Consult with Lawyer: The very basic
Consult with Lawyer: The very basic step, and the one most people skip because a friend has already given them an answer. What Nikhil needed in the first ten minutes was not strategy. It was three questions — what does each of you actually earn, what does each of you own, and what did the marriage cost to run every month. Until those three answers exist on paper, every other decision is guesswork.
What to Do, and What to Avoid
- Do not move savings or property. Transfers to a parent, a brother, or a newly opened account leave a date on them. That date becomes the argument.
- Disclose fully. Incomplete affidavits of assets and liabilities get picked apart at the interim stage, and the cost of that is immediate.
- Preserve, do not collect. Nikhil had recordings and messages sitting unorganised for months. Evidence that is not indexed, dated and matched to an incident is close to useless when the hearing arrives.
- Keep paying what you have been paying where it is reasonable. A spouse who quietly stops the rent or the school fees is handing the other side a paragraph for their application.
- Keep the dispute off social media. Posts about the marriage, the spouse or the case are screenshotted and filed. It happens in almost every matter now.
- Attempt mediation honestly. It costs little, and a failed mediation with a signed report is still useful later.
How Is Alimony in Divorce in India Actually Decided?
Alimony in divorce in India runs on two tracks, and people confuse them constantly. Track one is interim maintenance, decided during the case. Track two is permanent alimony, decided at the end.
Interim maintenance
For a Hindu marriage, an application under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 asks the court to fix maintenance and litigation expenses while the case is pending. Separately, a wife, child or parent can apply to a Magistrate for monthly maintenance — that provision now sits in Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, replacing Section 125 of the old Criminal Procedure Code. There is also the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, where a Magistrate can order monetary relief under an application filed under Section 12.
Three forums, three standards, all capable of running at once. This is the part that surprises people most.
What the court weighs
In Rajnesh v. Neha, 2021, the Supreme Court dealt with the inconsistency across these forums and mandated that both spouses file affidavits disclosing their assets, liabilities, income and expenses. It made clear that no fixed percentage of income applies. What the court actually looks at is:
- Net take-home income of each spouse, not gross CTC.
- The other spouse's income and their capacity to earn, where they are qualified but not working.
- The standard of living during the marriage — rent, household help, holidays, discretionary spending.
- Duration of the marriage and whether children are involved.
- Age, health, and any liabilities either spouse carries.
Note what is absent from that list. There is no rule that a husband pays a quarter of his salary, or a third, or anything at all. The number is an argued number.
Why the wife's income matters so much
This was the pivot in Nikhil's matter. His savings — fixed deposits, provident fund, mutual funds — mattered, but only as part of a wider picture. Once the court has two real income figures in front of it, the exercise shifts from "what can he pay" to "what is the shortfall between their two positions." Where the shortfall is small, an interim figure can be small.
Where the second income is genuinely unknown, courts do not simply guess in the applicant's favour forever. But they will draw inferences from non-disclosure, and those inferences are rarely kind to the person who stayed quiet. The provident fund is usually not the thing that decides it. The undisclosed salary figure is.
What Happens First, and How Long It Takes
The sequence in a contested matter looks like this:
- Notice and reply. A legal notice goes out or comes in. Reply within the time stated if there is one; do not let it sit.
- Filing. A divorce petition under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, or a mutual consent petition under Section 13B, is filed in the family court with jurisdiction.
- First hearing and mediation. The court usually refers the parties to mediation at this stage. Attendance is mandatory.
- Interim applications. Maintenance, custody, and injunction applications are heard alongside the main petition.
- Evidence and trial. This is the longest phase. Contested matrimonial matters routinely run years.
- Final orders. Permanent alimony is fixed here, and it can be paid as a lump sum or monthly.
Realistic timelines: an interim maintenance order usually takes several months from the date the application is filed, and how many months depends heavily on which family court you are before and how its board is running. Mutual consent divorce is faster — a petition under Section 13B carries a cooling-off period of six months which the Supreme Court has held can be waived in appropriate cases (Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur, 2017), though the court is not obliged to waive it. Court fees on a matrimonial petition are nominal. Lawyer fees are not, and they vary widely by court and by how contested the matter becomes. Ask about fees in writing at the first meeting.
What to Carry to the First Consultation
- The petition or legal notice, with the date it was received.
- Marriage certificate or proof of marriage registration.
- Last twelve months of bank statements for every account, including joint accounts.
- Salary slips or ITRs for the last two to three years.
- Fixed deposit receipts, provident fund statement, mutual fund and demat statements.
- Rent agreement and rent payment proof, if the accommodation was rented.
- Any messages, emails or recordings you intend to rely on — in their original form, not forwarded or edited.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the maintenance amount be changed after it is fixed?
Yes, both ways. Interim orders can be varied on a change in circumstances, and permanent alimony can be revisited if income or need shifts materially. This is one reason courts dislike lump-sum creativity at the interim stage.
What if my spouse simply refuses to disclose income?
The affidavit of disclosure is a court-mandated document. Non-disclosure is answered by an application asking the court to draw an adverse inference, and sometimes by seeking documents directly from the employer or the income tax department. It slows the case down, but it does not make the income vanish.
I already transferred money to a relative. What now?
Tell your lawyer before the other side finds it, not after. Voluntary disclosure with a coherent explanation is a different problem from a transfer the court discovers through bank records. A transfer made specifically to defeat a maintenance claim can be challenged in separate proceedings, and the cost of defending that is usually higher than the amount moved.
Do I have to attend court in person every time?
No. For most matrimonial hearings, your advocate appears and you attend only when the court requires it — typically for mediation, evidence, and final arguments. In some courts, video conferencing is available for evidence on application.
What if there is a criminal complaint along with the divorce?
Criminal and matrimonial proceedings run separately. If a cruelty complaint is filed — that offence now sits in Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, replacing Section 498A of the IPC — the immediate question is protection from arrest, not maintenance. Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar, 2014, restricts automatic arrest in offences punishable up to seven years, and notice of appearance in lieu of arrest is now governed by Section 35 of the BNSS. Anticipatory bail lies under Section 482 BNSS. Do not wait for a summons to think about this.
Is there any case where there is nothing to argue?
Yes, and it is better to hear it early. Where the other spouse earns as much or more and the marriage was short with no children and no shared standard of living to preserve, there may be very little on which to contest maintenance, and the sensible use of money is to settle rather than litigate. Saying that at the first meeting saves clients a great deal. What is worth fighting is the accuracy of the income figures, because that is where the number is actually made.
Where to Go From Here
If a notice, a petition or a maintenance application has reached you, the practical next step is small and specific. Write to the chamber at me@sudhirrao.com or through the contact page with three things: a copy of the order, notice or petition, the date it was served on you, and a two-line note on what each spouse earns and where each of you is living. That is enough for a first assessment of which track you are on — interim or final — and what the immediate deadline is. If the matter is already listed for hearing, say so at the top of the mail.
This article is general information about Indian law and is not legal advice on your own situation. Every matter turns on its own facts, and the outcome in the case described above is not a prediction of what will happen in yours.
Advocate Sudhir Rao, Supreme Court of India