Hindu Marriage Act 1955 Section 25: Permanent Alimony (2026)
What Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 does: the court can order permanent alimony and maintenance to either spouse at the time of a decree or later, as a lump sum or regular payment, and can change or cancel it if circumstances change. Last verified October 2026.
Explainer · Family Law · Hindu Marriage Act
Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 lets the court order one spouse to pay the other permanent alimony and maintenance. The court can do this while passing a decree in a matrimonial case, such as divorce, judicial separation or nullity, or at any time after it. The money can be a one time lump sum or a regular payment, and the court can secure it by a charge on the paying spouse's property. Either the wife or the husband can ask. This explainer sets out what Section 25 says, who can claim, how the court fixes the amount, and when an order can be changed. Last verified October 2026.
- What it is: Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act lets the court order permanent alimony and maintenance to either spouse at the time of a decree or later.
- Who can claim: either the wife or the husband; the provision is gender neutral.
- Form: a lump sum or a regular payment, which the court can secure by a charge on the payer's property.
- Can change: the court can vary or cancel the order if circumstances change, or on remarriage, so it is not a frozen amount.
01What Section 25 says
Section 25 gives the court the power to order permanent alimony and maintenance. The key points in plain words are these:
- the court may pass the order while granting any decree, or at any time after the decree;
- either spouse can be ordered to pay, and either spouse can be the one who receives;
- the payment can be a gross (lump) sum, or a monthly or other periodical sum, for a term or for life;
- the court can secure the payment by creating a charge on the immovable property of the paying spouse.
Why it is called permanent
The word "permanent" separates this relief from maintenance ordered during the case, which is called maintenance pendente lite under Section 24. Section 25 is the relief that goes with the final decree and is meant to settle support for the longer term.
02Who can claim and when
Section 25 is gender neutral. A wife can claim from the husband, and a husband can claim from the wife, if the facts support it. In practice wives claim far more often, but the right runs both ways.
The claim is tied to a matrimonial case under the Act. You can ask for Section 25 relief:
- at the time the court passes a decree of divorce, judicial separation, nullity or restitution; or
- by a separate application at any time after the decree.
The Supreme Court in Sukhdev Singh v. Sukhbir Kaur held that even a spouse whose marriage is declared void under Section 11 can still claim permanent alimony and maintenance under Section 25. So a decree of nullity does not by itself shut out a claim.
03How the court fixes the amount
There is no fixed formula. The court uses its discretion and looks at the whole picture. The main things it weighs are:
- the income and other property of the person who has to pay;
- the income and other property of the person claiming;
- the conduct of both parties; and
- the other circumstances of the case, including the standard of living during the marriage.
The aim is not bare survival. Courts have said the idea is to let the claiming spouse keep a reasonable standard of living close to what they had in the marriage, as far as the paying spouse can afford. Because it is discretionary, two cases with similar incomes can still end in different amounts depending on the facts.
04Lump sum or regular payment
Section 25 lets the court choose the form of payment.
| Form | What it means | When it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Gross (lump) sum | A single one time amount that closes the support claim | When the parties want a clean break and no ongoing link |
| Periodical payment | A monthly or other regular sum, for a term or for life | When the claiming spouse needs steady support over time |
| Secured by charge | A charge on the payer's immovable property to back the order | When there is a real risk the payer will not pay |
Courts often prefer a lump sum where the payer can manage it, because it avoids years of recovery fights. Where that is not possible, a monthly amount is ordered and can be enforced if it is not paid.
05When an order can be changed or cancelled
A Section 25 order is not frozen. Sub-section (2) lets the court vary, modify or rescind the order if there is a change in the circumstances of either party. So if the payer's income falls sharply, or the receiver's situation improves, either side can go back to the court.
Sub-section (3) lets the court vary, modify or rescind the order if the spouse receiving maintenance remarries, or, in the case of a wife, does not remain chaste, or, in the case of a husband, has sexual intercourse with any woman outside wedlock. The court is not bound to cancel automatically; it decides on the facts. This is why a Section 25 award is better seen as a living order that can be revisited, not a one time final figure.
06Section 25 and other maintenance remedies
Section 25 is only one of several maintenance routes in Indian law, and they can overlap. It helps to know where it sits:
- Within the Hindu Marriage Act: Section 24 gives maintenance during the case (pendente lite), while Section 25 gives permanent alimony with or after the decree.
- Under criminal procedure: a wife, child or parent can claim maintenance regardless of religion. See maintenance under Section 125 CrPC and its new code version in maintenance under BNSS Section 144.
- General maintenance rights: for the wider picture of who can claim and how, see maintenance for wife and children in India.
A court can adjust one amount against another so a spouse is not paid twice for the same thing. If you are in a divorce, the Section 25 claim usually rides along with the main case; see the mutual divorce procedure and the contested divorce procedure.
07Where Claw fits
Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.
How much alimony a court actually grants turns on how similar cases have been decided, so good precedents matter. Claw lets you search more than 30 crore judgments on Section 25 alimony, by party or advocate, with results in under 5 seconds, so you can see how courts have treated income, conduct and standard of living in cases like yours. Reported authority runs from Supreme Court rulings of 1950 and High Court rulings of 1990 to the latest orders. A maintenance matter also runs for a long time through applications, variation and enforcement, so Claw lets you track the case, its orders and hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums by party name.
Claw does not use the documents you upload to train its AI models. Create a free Claw account to find alimony awards close to your facts and to follow a pending matter, and use case search across Indian courts to search the wider body of family law. To keep a family matter organised, see custody and maintenance case tracking.
08Sources and further reading
- India Code (Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, bare text): indiacode.nic.in
- Section 25 explained (iPleaders): blog.ipleaders.in
- Judicial exposition of Section 25 (Casemine): casemine.com
- Claw: clawlaw.in
This explainer is general information, not legal advice. Maintenance law turns on the facts and on current case law, so check the statute and take advice from counsel before you act.
09Frequently asked questions
What is Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act?
Section 25 lets the court order one spouse to pay the other permanent alimony and maintenance, while passing a decree in a matrimonial case or at any time after it. The payment can be a lump sum or a regular amount and may be secured by a charge on property.
Can a husband claim alimony under Section 25?
Yes. Section 25 is gender neutral, so either the wife or the husband can be ordered to pay and either can receive. In practice wives claim more often, but the right runs both ways.
How does the court decide the amount of alimony?
There is no fixed formula. The court uses its discretion and looks at the income and property of both spouses, their conduct, and the other circumstances, including the standard of living during the marriage. The aim is a reasonable amount, not bare survival.
Can a Section 25 order be changed later?
Yes. The court can vary, modify or cancel the order if the circumstances of either party change, and it can also act if the spouse receiving maintenance remarries or in the other situations set out in the section.
Can a spouse of a void marriage claim under Section 25?
Yes. The Supreme Court in Sukhdev Singh v. Sukhbir Kaur held that even a spouse whose marriage is declared void under Section 11 can still claim permanent alimony and maintenance under Section 25. The relief, though, remains discretionary.
Can I find alimony judgments in Claw?
Yes. Claw lets you search more than 30 crore judgments on Section 25 alimony, by party or advocate, with results in under 5 seconds, and track a pending matter and its orders across 9,102 courts, benches and forums. It researches and tracks the case but does not give legal advice.