Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956
18. Maintenance of wife
(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a Hindu wife,
whether married before or after the commencement of this Act, shall be entitled
to be maintained by her husband during her lifetime.
(2) A Hindu wife shall be entitled to live separately from her
husband without forfeiting her claim to maintenance-
(a) if he is guilty of desertion, that is to
say, of abandoning her without reasonable cause and without her consent or
against her wish, or of willfully neglecting her;
(b) if he has treated her with such cruelty as
to cause a reasonable apprehension in her mind that it will be harmful or injurious
to live with her husband;
(c) if he is suffering from a virulent form of
leprosy;
(d) if he has any other wife living;
(e) if he keeps a concubine in the same house
in which his wife is living or habitually resides with a concubine elsewhere;
(f) if he has ceased to be a Hindu by
conversion to another religion;
(g) if there is any other cause justifying her
living separately.
(3) A Hindu wife shall not be entitled to separate residence and
maintenance from her husband if she is unchaste or ceases to be a Hindu by
conversion to another religion.