Supreme Court: Wife's waived maintenance claims cannot be revived through domestic violence proceedings

The Supreme Court has ruled that a wife cannot revive maintenance claims she has expressly waived under a matrimonial settlement agreement through subsequent proceedings under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. A Division Bench headed by Justice Sandeep Mehta set aside a Kerala High Court judgment and quashed DV proceedings, holding that once maintenance claims are relinquished in a settlement and reaffirmed before the Family Court, they cannot be resurrected.

The case involved a couple who executed a settlement agreement on 23 July 2016 explicitly stating that all monetary claims between them had ended. The wife affirmed this before the Family Court in a 24 January 2017 affidavit before their divorce was finalized.

However, the Court clarified an important exception: the couple's adult daughter, who was not a party to the settlement agreement and had attained majority before it was executed, retained her independent rights to pursue claims. The ruling establishes that settlement waivers are binding but do not extend to third parties not involved in the agreement.