Mother entitled to deceased daughter's alimony arrears: Madras High Court

A mother is a legal heir to her deceased daughter's property, and is therefore entitled to claim accrued arrears of the daughter's alimony, the Madras High Court recently ruled [Annadurai v Jaya]..In a judgement passed on April 21, Justice V Sivagnanam of the High Court dismissed a criminal revision application filed by one Annadurai, challenging a magistrate's court order that had permitted his mother-in-law to recover the arrears of maintenance amounting to ₹6.2 lakh, after his divorced wife died during litigationThe Court said that a combined reading of sub-sections 1 and 2 of Section 14 of the Hindu Succession Act made it clear that arrears of maintenance were to be considered as both movable and immovable property that one had acquired under a decree. The Court further said that as per the Transfer of Property Act, the arrears of maintenance will be in the "nature of property that is heritable." But, the right to "future maintenance however, was not transferable or heritable.".The petitioner husband had argued that the maintenance was the deceased's personal right and that right was extinguished once she died.Since the right to claim maintenance would not have survived on the divorced wife's death, her mother was not competent to continue the proceedings and not entitled to claim arrears of maintenance, he had argued. The Court, however, said that as per Section 15(1)(c) of the Hindu Succession Act, a mother was entitled to the property of her daughter and that principle would apply to the present case. ."No doubt, the right of maintenance is wife's personal right. The maxim “Action personalis moritur cum persona” (A personal action dies with the person) is applicable, so far as future maintenance is concerned. So far as the arrears of maintenance is concerned, it is a property of wife as per the explanation 2 Section 14 of Hindu Succession Act," the High Court said. The Court agreed with the respondent counsel's submission that since a mother was entitled to the property of her daughter, in the present case, the respondent mother was entitled to the arrears of maintenance accrued till the death of her daughter. "In view of Section 15(1)(c) of the Hindu Succession Act, the mother is entitled to the property of her daughter. In this case, the arrears of maintenance accrued till the death of her daughter Saraswathi (wife of the petitioner). Therefore, the learned Judge rightly impleaded the mother of the deceased daughter (wife of the petitioner) in the petition for arrears of maintenance. There is no infirmity in the order passed by the learned Judge and no reason to interfere with the impugned order and no merit in the criminal revision case. Accordingly, the criminal revision case is dismissed. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petitions are closed," the High Court said.Advocate K Govi Ganesan appeared for the petitioner Annadurai. Advocate R Amburaj appeared for the respondent mother-in-law..[Read Judgment]