Can't pay alimony as per compromise in court. What can i do now?

The divorce laws depend upon the religion of the person. Assuming you are Hindus, you will be governed by the Hindu Marriage Act.

Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act provides the various grounds on which a divorce can be sought by one of the parties to a marriage. It is as follows:

Section 13(1) states that a petition may be presented by either the husband or the wife, for dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce on the ground that the other party-

i. has, after the solemnization of the marriage, had voluntary, sexual intercourse with any person other than his or her spouse; or

a. has, after the solemnization of the marriage, treated the petitioner with cruelty; or

b. has deserted the petitioner for a continuous period of not less than two years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition; or

ii. has ceased to be a Hindu by conversion to another religion; or

iii. has been incurably of unsound mind, or has been suffering continuously or intermittently from mental disorder of such a kind and to such an extent that the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the respondent; or

iv. has been suffering from a virulent and incurable from of leprosy; or

v.  has been suffering from venereal disease in a communicable from; or

vi. has renounced the world by entering any religious order; or

vii. has not been heard of as being alive for a period of seven years or more by those persons who would naturally have heard of it, had that party been alive.

So it needs to be decided based on the facts of your case as to which ground can be taken for seeking divorce.

With respect to the alimony, the fact that you are already paying her alimony, the Court shall consider this aspect before deciding the amount of alimony payable by you post Divorce. Most likely the custody of the daughter shall be given to the mother as she is 8 months old, so you shall be liable to pay for her maintenance as well.

As you have stated you do not wish to pay the maintenance, then you need to adduce evidence to show that you are financially incapable of paying the maintenance to her.

If you are seeking to reduce the amount of alimony you have already agreed to pay under the compromise, then this amount can be altered subsequently only if there is a material change in the circumstances justifying such alteration.

So, if you can adduce evidence to show that there has been a material change in the circumstances which may be financial, physical etc, then you can claim reduction in the amount of maintenance.

Kindly contact us for any further details and action.