Court States Woman Changing Name Or Not After Marriage Has No Effect On Marital Status

Woman Changing Name After Marriage: A magistrate court stated that a woman changing or not changing her name after marriage has no effect on her marital status.

The statement was made when the court was deciding on an application for maintenance by a woman married to a police constable.

The court made the statement in response to the police constable’s contention that the woman who filed the petition was still using the surname of her previous husband who had passed away. The court stated, “It is not the rule of law or mandatory that a woman should have changed her name or surname after her marriage or remarriage and use the surname of her present husband with her own name.”

Woman Changing Name After Marriage Case:

The woman had filed her application under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act. She stated that she had married the police constable in 1996, but his behaviour changed over the years and he left her in 2009. The woman sought maintenance as per the Act and claimed she had been left with nothing but a pension of Rs 800. She also sought compensation for the mental and emotional distress that was caused by the accused.

The accused denied marrying the woman and stated he was only doing his job as a police constable. He claimed that the woman took advantage of his generosity and filed a false case. On the other hand, the woman claimed that while she initially resisted marrying the accused, she gave in after his insistence.

The woman submitted photographs of them together along with testimonies of her children as proof. The court admitted the photographs and testimonies as evidence. The evidence proved that they shared a household, which brings the provisions of the Act into consideration.

The court ordered the police constable to pay the woman maintenance of Rs 7,000 from the date of the application, which had been made in 2010. He was also ordered to provide accommodation to the woman as per his standards of living within two months.