First, consult and inform your lawyer about your husband’s noncompliance of the court alimony order granted ancillary to the decree of matrimonial relief. Your lawyer may take up the matter to the lawyer of your husband, who has appeared on behalf of your husband. As per your Advocate’s advice, you need to proceed the steps. Generally, the options would be as follows; you can file a contempt petition and reopen the case filed for alimony or the divorce, and file an Interim application against your husband for non-complying the alimony order and seeking the enforcement of alimony award. As the court ordered the alimony amount, Court has the procedure to enforce the same in favour of the recipient of the alimony. Court upon issuing notice to the husband may call for appearance before Court and seek the explanation from the husband. If the husband found sound in his financial position, and is performing the job, after verifying his current financial position and may order to pay the arrear amount. If he is not complied, Court may order the attachment of his salary by which, it directs the employers of the husband to pay the alimony award amount from the salary on an installment basis for each month. If the husband found not working anywhere and doing any business, the court may modify the order accordingly to secure the payment of the alimony from the payments of the business. Finally, if husband not doing any work, but he has any immovable properties, court will attach the properties and try the possible ways to provide the alimony amount to the recipient.
Under the present laws in our country, there is no provision for women to claim alimony from the father-in-law or other in-laws on the husband side if he fails to pay the alimony amount due to various reasons such as physical or mental disorders, or renounced himself from performing his obligations world for any religious purpose, or if he is not heard alive. There is still no clear legislation especially in the Hindu Law casting the legal duty on father in law, if her husband is not in a position to pay alimony. However, Law Commission recommended the Government to amend the law to provide such legal obligation on father-in-law, which is still under consideration.
By Anitha Gutti