In the judgment Anurag Vijaykumar Goel v. State of Maharashtra, delivered on August 6, 2025, the Supreme Court clarified that alimony received from a first marriage cannot be used to reduce or deny maintenance in a second marriage.
A bench led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai, along with Justices K. Vinod Chandran and N. V. Anjaria, addressed a case where the husband argued that his second wife had already secured significant financial benefits in her previous marriage. The Court firmly rejected this line of reasoning, holding that each marriage is a separate legal entity, and obligations or entitlements should be evaluated on the basis of that specific relationship.
The Court emphasized that maintenance must reflect the unique financial dependency and lifestyle dynamics of the second marriage, and past settlements have no bearing on fresh claims.
Why It Matters
This ruling will affect how courts assess maintenance applications in successive marriages. It reinforces the principle that each maintenance claim must be judged on its own merits, without referencing prior claims from unrelated marriages.
Consult a lawyer for guidance if maintenance has been denied in your second marriage on account of previous settlement amounts.
