Achraf Hakimi divorce: Can husband escape maintenance to wife in India? What does the law say

6 min read . Updated: 05 May 2023, 04:53 PM IST Livemint

Achraf Hakimi is a Morrocon national and a famous Paris Saint-Germain defender. (Image: Reuters)

The recent report of Achraf Hakimi's divorce case has taken social media by storm. When his wife Spanish-Tunisian actress Hiba Abouk filed for divorce and demanded half of his property, the court said that Hakimi did not own anything and everything was under his mother's name.

What is Achraf Hakimi-Hiba Abouk divorce case all about?

Achraf Hakimi is a Morrocon national and a famous Paris Saint-Germain defender. He is one of the most expensive players in Africa and is also regarded as the world's best right-backs, a report by Morroco World News has stated. His now former wife Hiba Abouk is a Spanish-Tunisian actress. Both met in 2018 when Hakimi was 19 and Abouk was 31. They got married in 2020 and have 2 kids Amin and Naim. After Abouk filed for divorce, the court said that all his properties including his cars, houses, jewellery or even clothes are not registered under his name. In a surprising move, the court has now ordered his wife Hiba Abouk to donate half of her estimated $3 million net worth to Hakimi, a report by Wealth has stated. As the PSG star has zero net worth legally, he might get somewhere around $1.5 million from his former wife. In 2022, the International Center for Sports Studies (CIES) featured him in the list of the 100 most expensive players in terms of his estimated transfer value. Since the case is out, people have been lauding Hakimi for this smart move while some have also called him a coward. Reports states that the divorce was filed after the footballer was accused of sexually abusing a young girl in Paris, while some state that the divorce was filed before the accusations. As per recent reports, Abouk is set to file a lawsuit against her ex-husband for fraud and mismanagement of their marital assets, La Vanguardia newspaper has reported.

Divorce laws in India

In India, if a similar situation happens based on property, then as per the Indian Laws, the wife after the divorce do not get any share in her husband's property. As per Miriam Fozia Rahman, a Matrimonial Lawyer told Mint, “In India, there is no concept of wife getting a share in the property, even if it the self-acquired property of the husband. “A wife can only claim her right to live in the matrimonial home or the sharing household. If this is not agreed on, then the husband can also provide the wife a rented accommodation of his equal status and pay for the rent."

In India, owing to its secular nature, a wide array of laws exist regarding the relief of maintenance to a divorced wife. The provisions for the same are provided in Hindu Law, Muslim Law, Christian Law, Parsi Law, Special Marriage Act, 1954, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 which not only emphasizes legal obligations but also moral obligations. In pursuance of the same, such extensive laws accentuate the necessity to fulfil the social purpose for which the provision of Maintenance under different laws have been executed.

Under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956, a wife can claim maintenance or alimony from her husband. Maintenance is something which is given to the wife per month and is filed when the wife is unable to maintain herself financially. Apart from this, the right of maintenance can also be claimed by a working woman. “Alimony is something which is given in lump sum to the spouse. The alimony amount depends on the status of the husband and the status of the matrimonial home a wife is married to," Advocate Miriam said.

It has also been held in numerous Apex Court judgements that maintenance was a woman's unalienable right. It is also well established that under Hindu Law, the husband has a personal obligation to maintain his wife, and if he owns property, then his wife is entitled to a right to be maintained from such properties since the objective of the provisions and laws is to make it incumbent upon a man to perform the moral obligations, which he owes to the society in respect of his wife, children and parents. Accordingly, it ensures a neglected wife or child do not fall prey to social issues such as destitution, immorality or committing acts of crime for subsistence, she said.

In a case like Achraf Hakimi, if in India the husband claims that he owns nothing and wont be able to give maintenance to his wife as he owns nothing and everything is under his mother's name, the court will still order him to pay the maintenance or face jail. “The court will order him to take a job and maintain his wife especially when he has kids."

When asked whether this persists also in cases of a working wife, Advocate Miriam said, “The court have a lenient view saying that she is capable but if there is a child involved then he is bound to pay the Maintenance."

When asked there has been order when a wife has to pay alimony or maintenance to the husband to which she said, “There are only rarest of rare case when such a situation arises."

Another lawyer Amish Agarwal who is Advocate on record, Supreme Court of India recently posted a video on social media saying that if in India, a similar case occurs and the wife claims that the husband owns ₹9 crore per month but the husband refuses saying that all the money is coming in my mother's account and have no control over the money, the court will still order him to pay approximately ₹2-3 crore a month to his wife. And if he fails to do so, the husband can be jailed for non-compliance with the orders of the court.

As per Section 125 of the CrPc, a person has to maintain his wife, unable to maintain herself (wife includes a woman who has been divorced by, or has obtained a divorce from, her husband and has not remarried); or his legitimate or illegitimate minor child, whether married or not; his father or mother, unable to maintain himself or herself.

“If any person so ordered fails without sufficient cause to comply with the order, any such Magistrate may, for every breach of the order, issue a warrant for levying the amount due in the manner provided for levying fines, and may sentence such person, for the whole or any part of each month' s allowances remaining unpaid after the execution of the warrant, to imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month or until payment if sooner made," the law states.

Earlier in October 2022, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court held that a woman, who leaves her matrimonial house before her divorce, cannot later seek "right to residence" under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (DV Act) even if her appeal against the divorce decree is pending, Bar and Bench has reported.