Supreme Court Decrees 8 Factors to Decide Alimony Amount Amid Bengaluru Techie’s Suicide Case

New Delhi: Following the massive outrage on Bengaluru techie's suicide case, the Supreme Court of India on Wednesday ruled out eight factors for deciding the permanent alimony amount.

A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Prasanna B Varale listed out an eight-point formula list while hearing a divorce case. The bench said that according to the jurisdiction under the Hindu Marriage Act, every factor in the couple's marriage was "irretrievably broken down", and found that the grant of 'permanent alimony' to the wife was the only matter that required consideration, Live Law reported.

However, the apex court noted that these factors are not a 'straight jacket formula' but a "guideline" to decide permanent alimony.

Referring to an old previous judgment (Kiran Jyot Maini v Anish Pramod Patel), the top court bench said, "As held by us in Kiran Jyot Maine, it is also necessary to ensure that the amount of permanent alimony should not penalize the husband but should be made with the aim of ensuring a decent standard of living for the wife."

The 8 Factors Laid Down by SC are:

Status of the parties, social and financial
Reasonable needs of the wife and the dependent children
Parties individual qualifications and employment statuses
Independent income or assets owned by the applicant
Standard of life enjoyed by the wife in the matrimonial home
Any employment sacrifices made for the family responsibilities
Reasonable litigation costs for a non-working wife
Financial capacity of the husband, his income, maintenance obligations, and liabilities

Atul Subhash's Suicide Case: Details

Atul Subhash, the 34-year-old Bengaluru techie who ended his life amid false cases filed against him by his wife and her family, had been planning his death for months and even had a detailed checklist of the same, as per media reports.

Atul who left a 24-page suicide note and recorded a 90-minute long video had been ticking off every task once done and pasted its printout on a wall next to a paper with the words 'Justice is Due' written.

An FIR has been filed against four people in connection with the suicide of the 34-year-old deputy general manager of a private firm, Atul Subhash. The FIR accuses his wife, her family members, and a judge of harassment, extortion, and corruption. The people named in the FIR by Atul's brother are the techie's wife, Nikita Singhania, her mother Nisha Singhania, her brother Anurag Singhania, and her uncle Sushil Singhania. The FIR has been filed under Section 108 (abetment of suicide) and Section 3(5) (establishing joint criminal liability when two or more people act with a common intention) of the BNS.

Baseless, Says Atul's Wife's Uncle

Nikita's uncle has denied all the allegations levelled by Atul Subhash, the Bengaluru techie who committed blaming harassment by his wife, terming them as baseless. Speaking on the matter, her uncle said that the case is in court adding Nikita will answer all the questions once she is back. It is to be mentioned that the FIR in this case also mentions his name.  

Nikita's uncle, 70-year-old, said that she has not spoken to her extended family about his case as of now… FIR mentions my name… this is a 3-year-old case…. it's in the court and judge's decision will be final… our family is not responsible for this.

"Subhash's allegations are baseless… Nikita is out… will answer all the questions once she's back… I live in a separate house… and not dealing this case… they (Nikita's family) only do it," her uncle said.