Under the applicable laws in India, the wife is entitled to receive her share of contribution in a joint property if she decides to divorce her husband. The reverse is also true. If the property is in the name of the wife, but the husband has also made contributions towards the purchase and has the documents to prove so, he can also claim a share in the property.
However, what happens if the property is the self-acquired property of the husband bought entirely using his won money? Does an estranged wife have a legal right to stop him from selling such a property?
According to a Bombay High Court (HC) order, a woman does not have a right to obstruct the sale of her estranged husband’s property if he is willing to provide her with a rented accommodation with similar facilities and amenities, matching her lifestyle.
It is well settled that wife has a right to lead a similar lifestyle as that of the husband…If the husband is ready to provide (an) alternative rental accommodation having similar advantages, she cannot refuse it on the ground that she is habituated in the existing flat,” the HC said in an order in January 2023.
While dismissing a woman’s petition challenging a December 2021 order by the Bandra Family Court, and permitting her estranged husband to go ahead with the sale of his flat to repay his outstanding loan, the HC added: “The material on record shows that the husband has continued to pay EMI of suit premises even after separation of petitioner and respondent. This indicates that the intention of the husband is not to evict the petitioner from suit premises but to shift her to alternative accommodation which is suitable for her.”
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