After noticing many pandemic-era couples lived together for only months, Madras High Court orders statewide data collection to explore tailored dispute resolution

The respondent sought interim maintenance under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, in O.P. No. 377 of 2023. The Sub Court, Alandur, allowed the application and directed the petitioner to pay Rs. 10,000 per month. The petitioner challenged that order under Article 227 of the Constitution.

While entertaining the revision, the High Court directed interim payment of Rs. 7,000 per month and payment of arrears; the petitioner paid the arrears as directed and continued monthly payments at that rate.

Whether the Sub Court’s order fixing interim maintenance at Rs. 10,000 per month warranted interference under Article 227 of the Constitution

Whether further directions were required concerning the arrears and disposal of the pending matrimonial petition

Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, provides the statutory basis for a spouse’s application for interim maintenance.

The High Court considered its supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution in reviewing the subordinate court’s maintenance order.

The judgment cites no precedent and does not set out a broader test for Article 227 intervention.

The High Court found that the Sub Court had properly exercised its discretion and that Rs. 10,000 per month was reasonable and not exorbitant. It therefore declined to interfere under Article 227, sustaining the maintenance order.

Because the petitioner had paid only Rs. 7,000 per month under the High Court’s interim direction, the Court ordered payment of the resulting arrears within four weeks. Given that the original petition dated from 2023, it also directed the Sub Court to dispose of it within four months.

The petitioner was directed to pay the arrears within four weeks, and the Sub Court was directed to dispose of O.P. No. 377 of 2023 within four months; there was no order as to costs.

Separately, the Court directed Principal District Judges across Tamil Nadu to collect data on matrimonial disputes involving marriages solemnised between 2020 and 2022, for a report to be placed before the Court before the next hearing, and listed the matter for that purpose.