History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.t2.465

v4.c63.t2.465

There is a good deal of case law on this subject, but much of it is irrelevant in this treatise. The right of maintenance attaches in the first instance to the separate property of the putative father and if the latter leaves no such property but was a member of a joint family it attaches to the property of the joint family of which the putative father was a member.¹⁵⁷⁶ It has further been held that it does not matter if the woman was not a dāsi (a slave) or a permanent concubine in the exclusive keeping of a man or that the intercourse was adulterous. ¹⁵⁷⁷ It has been also held that the illegitimate son's right to maintenance is a personal right and cannot be transmitted to his son ¹⁵⁷⁸ and that maintenance has to be provided for him till his death ¹⁵⁷⁹ (and not merely up to his attaining majority), except in Bengal.¹⁵⁸⁰ The fact that the texts employ the word "śūdrāputra" (in the masculine gender) has been interpreted by the decided cases as involving that an illegitimate daughter is not entitled under Hindu Law to maintenance. Vide *Parvati v. Ganpatrao*¹⁵⁸¹ and *Vellaiyappa v. Natarajan*.¹⁵⁸²