'Husband is rich, get me 12 crore rupees and BMW, ' SC questions woman when she asks for alimony.

While hearing a case on Tuesday, the Supreme Court said that educated and capable women should stand on their own feet and earn money instead of taking alimony from their husbands.

The court made this remark while hearing an alimony case. In this case, a woman divorced her husband after just 18 months of marriage and demanded a luxurious flat in Mumbai, Rs 12 crore, and a BMW car from her husband as alimony.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai raised strong questions on the woman's demands. He said that the woman is an IT professional and holds an MBA degree. The CJI said in a questioning tone, "You are an IT professional, have done MBA, you are in demand in Bangalore and Hyderabad... then why don't you work?"

'18 months of marriage and demand for BMW?' The CJI further said, "Your marriage lasted only 18 months and you also want a BMW?" He also commented that the woman claims that her husband is 'very rich' and she has filed an annulment petition citing her schizophrenia.

The court clearly said, "Either you will get a flat without any hindrance or nothing. When you are so educated and are not working on your own will."

The court also made it clear that educated women should earn their own income using their abilities and should not depend on the money of their husband. Earlier in March, the Delhi High Court had also given a similar verdict.

The court had said that the law does not promote laziness. Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) provides maintenance allowance for wife, children and parents. Its purpose is to ensure fairness and security, and not to promote the habit of not working among capable people.

The High Court had said, "An educated wife, who has good job experience, should not be lazy just to get alimony. Therefore, interim alimony is being denied in this case, as the court sees the petitioner's ability to earn by taking advantage of his education."

'You have no right to husband's progress after divorce'

In December 2024, the Supreme Court had ruled in another case that after divorce, the wife cannot ask for alimony to get equal wealth as her husband.

A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Pankaj Mithal said, "It cannot be expected that the husband should always pay alimony to the wife according to his current status. If the husband is progressing after divorce and his life is getting better, then asking the wife for alimony according to his changing status would be a burden on the personal progress of the husband."