alimony.lol

An estimator, not a judgement.

What might the Court actually award?

A reasoned estimate of Indian alimony grounded in 300+ Supreme Court & High Court judgements, the Rajnesh v. Neha 9-factor framework, and the Parvin Kumar Jain 8-point formulation for permanent alimony.

  • 300+judgements indexed
  • 8applicable laws
  • 6judicial formulae
  • ₹179 – ₹12crhistorical range
I.

The Calculator

All amounts in INR. Empty fields will be treated as unknown. Each section is required for a meaningful estimate.

i Parties & Income

Use gross monthly income before deductions. The engine subtracts only statutory items (income tax, compulsory PF) — voluntary EMIs are not deductible per Rajnesh v. Neha.

ii Marriage & Family

iii Geography & Relief Sought

III.

The Casebook

All judgements consulted. Each citation is hyperlinked to its IndianKanoon, LiveLaw, or court-website source.

Loading judgements…
IV.

Methodology

There is no statutory formula in Indian law. Courts apply the multi-factor frameworks of Rajnesh v. Neha and Parvin Kumar Jain with full discretion. The estimator below distils the judicial benchmarks repeatedly cited in reported judgements.

1 · The 25% rule of thumb

From Kalyan Dey Chowdhury v. Rita Dey Chowdhury (2017) 14 SCC 200 — re-affirming Dr. Kulbhushan Kumar v. Raj Kumari (1970) 3 SCC 129. The Supreme Court has held 25% of the husband's net salary a "just and proper" benchmark for the wife's permanent maintenance.

award = 0.25 × husband_net_income

2 · The two-earner adjustment

Where both spouses earn, the courts triangulate the differential. The estimator applies 33% of the payer's net income minus 25% of the receiver's, scaled by an earning-ratio adjustment derived from Chaturbhuj v. Sita Bai (2008) 2 SCC 316 (insufficiency of own income) and Delhi HC 2025 self-sufficiency precedent.

award = (0.33 × payer_net) − (0.25 × receiver_net)

3 · The Family Resource Cake

From Jasbir Kaur Sehgal v. District Judge, Dehradun (1997) 7 SCC 7 — the 1/3rd doctrine. Net income is divided into shares (two for the husband, one for the wife, one per child) so that the wife's share approximates one-third where there are no children.

share = net_income ÷ (2 + 1 + n_children)

4 · Adjustment multipliers

Empirically derived from the casebook:

  • City tier: Metro × 1.20, Tier-2 × 1.00, Tier-3 × 0.85, Rural × 0.70
  • Marriage duration: <2y × 0.7, 2–5y × 0.85, 5–10y × 1.0, 10–20y × 1.15, >20y × 1.25
  • Wife earning >50% of husband: reduce 10–30%
  • Wife earning ≥100%: typically no spousal alimony; child maintenance still due

5 · Lump-sum capitalisation

From Rinku Baheti v. Sandeep Baheti (2024), U. Sree v. U. Srinivas (2013) 2 SCC 114, and observed practice — lump-sum awards typically range 20%–33% of the payer's net worth. The court rejected "wealth equalisation" in Rinku Baheti: alimony is not a 50/50 division of assets.

6 · Inflation indexation

From Rakhi Sadhukhan (2025) — many courts now order a 5% biennial hike on the maintenance amount, reflected in the upper bound of the estimator's range.

Disqualifying circumstances

  • Adultery proven against the wife generally disentitles permanent alimony.
  • Voluntary desertion by the wife bars Section 125 CrPC claims.
  • A self-sufficient spouse with comparable means cannot claim (Delhi HC 2025).
  • A qualified-but-idle wife may be denied — see Mamta Jaiswal (2000).
  • Conversely, the husband's poverty is no defence: even daily-wagers and beggars have been held liable (Punjab & Haryana HC).
  • Muslim divorced women may claim under both Section 125 CrPC and the Muslim Women Act 1986.
V.

A solemn disclaimer

  1. This calculator produces an estimate only, derived from judicial benchmarks observed across reported cases. It is not a statutory formula and there is none in Indian law.
  2. The final amount in any litigation rests entirely with the discretion of the Court, applying the multi-factor frameworks of Rajnesh v. Neha (2020) and Parvin Kumar Jain v. Anju Jain (2024).
  3. Outcomes vary by jurisdiction, the conduct of parties, the quality of evidence, and a hundred other factors that no calculator can model.
  4. This tool is not legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship. Consult a qualified family-law practitioner before relying on any number you see here.
  5. The case data is sourced from public judgements (IndianKanoon, LiveLaw, Bar & Bench, Supreme Court of India, and the various High Court websites). All citations link to original sources.