Bombay HC: Ex-Wife Can Recover Pending Alimony from Deceased Husband’s Estate, Not Seek Enhancement

The Bombay High Court has held that a divorced wife is entitled to recover unpaid maintenance from her deceased husband’s estate, but cannot seek enhancement of the alimony amount after his death. The court observed that permitting such claims could open the door to a flood of litigation.

In a judgment delivered in May, a division bench comprising Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande noted that any request for enhancement of maintenance requires an assessment of both the wife’s needs and the husband’s financial capacity. Once the husband has died, the court said, this essential consideration ceases to exist.

The ruling came while dismissing an appeal filed by 62-year-old Varsha Goregaonkar. She had married Naren Goregaonkar in January 1974, and the couple separated in 1977. Their marriage was dissolved in 1980, when a court directed Naren to pay ₹6,000 per month as maintenance.

Following Naren’s death in March 2012, Varsha approached the court seeking recovery of the arrears of maintenance as well as an increase in the monthly alimony. In February 2023, the family court permitted recovery of the outstanding maintenance dues from the deceased husband’s estate but rejected the plea for enhancement. Upholding that decision, the High Court dismissed the appeal and reiterated that while unpaid maintenance survives as a recoverable claim against the estate, a demand for increased alimony does not.