alimony.lol
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What might the Court actually award?

Tap your way through. Each answer is grounded in 300+ Supreme Court and High Court judgements, the Rajnesh v. Neha 9-factor framework, and the Parvin Kumar Jain 8-point formulation.

i Income & profession

Use gross monthly income before deductions. Voluntary EMIs are not deductible per Rajnesh v. Neha.

ii Marriage & family

The duration, the children, the circumstances. These weigh heavily in the multi-factor frameworks the Court applies.

iii Geography & relief sought

Where the parties live, which law applies, and what relief you are after.

What this is

alimony.lol estimates alimony and maintenance under Indian law, from 292 reported judgements of the Supreme Court of India and nineteen High Courts decided between 1970 and 2026. It is free, needs no account, and carries no advertising.

  • India only. It covers Section 125 CrPC (now Section 144 BNSS), Sections 24 and 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, the Special Marriage Act, the Muslim Women Act 1986 and the Domestic Violence Act. There are no US state formulas and no Canadian guidelines here.
  • Built on decided cases, not a made-up formula. Indian law prescribes no formula. The estimate starts from the 25 percent of net income benchmark approved in Kalyan Dey Chowdhury v. Rita Dey Chowdhury (2017), applies the factors from Rajnesh v. Neha (2020), and prints every step.
  • Every old award is restated in today's money. Rs 500 a month ordered in 1985 is about Rs 8,100 a month now. No other Indian maintenance resource publishes this, and precedent read without it is misleading.
  • It shows its evidence. Each estimate comes with the reported judgements closest to your facts, every one linked to its full text.
  • It is not legal advice and it does not predict what a court will order. It gives a range and shows the reasoning.

An estimator, not a judgement.

Grounded in precedent, not in guesswork.

Every multiplier in this estimator traces back to a reported judgement. The Rajnesh v. Neha (2020) 9-factor framework, the Kalyan Dey Chowdhury 25% rule, the Jasbir Kaur Sehgal 1/3rd Family Resource Cake. We do the arithmetic; the Court keeps the discretion.

  • 300+ judgements indexed
  • 8 applicable laws
  • 6 judicial formulae
  • ₹179 to ₹12cr historical range

The evidence

292 reported judgements, in one searchable casebook

Every case behind this estimate, from the Supreme Court and nineteen High Courts, 1970 to 2026. Filter by court, by provision and by outcome, and read each award both as the court wrote it and in today’s money.

Open the casebook →
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.

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 to 5y × 0.85, 5 to 10y × 1.0, 10 to 20y × 1.15, >20y × 1.25
  • Wife earning >50% of husband: reduce 10 to 30%
  • Wife earning ≥100%: typically no spousal alimony; child maintenance still due

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.