(1) Any Court exercising jurisdiction under Chapter V or Chapter VI may, at the time of passing any decree or at any time subsequent to the decree, or application made to it for the purpose, order that the husband shall secure to the wife for her maintenance and support, if necessary, by a charge on the husbands property, such gross sum or such monthly or periodical payment of money for a term not exceeding her life, as, having regard to her own property, if any, her husbands property and ability the conduct of the parties and other circumstances of the case it may seem to the Court to be just.
(2) If the district Court is satisfied that there is a change in the circumstances of either party at any time after it has made an order under sub-section (1), it may, at the instance of either party, vary, modify or rescind any such order in such manner as it may seem to the Court to be just.
(3) If the district Court is satisfied that the wife in whose favour an order has been made under this section has remarried or is not leading a chaste life, it may, at the instance of the husband vary, modify or rescind any such order and in such manner as the Court may deem just .
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 37
Section 37 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 empowers the court to award permanent alimony and maintenance at the time of decree.
Sub-section (3) mandates that if the wife remarries, or if she does not remain chaste, the court shall rescind the maintenance order upon application by the husband.
Section 37 provides lifelong financial security for the wife following the dissolution of a civil marriage. In modern family practice, courts encourage lump-sum clean-break settlements, which terminate ongoing monthly disputes and eliminate subsequent litigation regarding change of circumstances or remarriage.