MUMBAI, May 17 -- In a significant relief to a 50-year-old divorced woman battling severe health issues and financial distress, the Bombay high court (HC) recently permitted her to withdraw Rs.1 crore from the Rs.1.5 crore permanent alimony awarded to her, despite the matter being under appeal. The applicant, who married the respondent in January 2012, was granted a divorce by mutual consent in March 2017. As part of the divorce proceedings, the Family Court in Bandra had, on July 22, 2022, directed the respondent to pay her Rs.1.5 crore as permanent alimony-Rs.1 crore towards housing and Rs.50 lakh for litigation expenses. In an interim application filed before the high court in 2025, the woman sought permission to withdraw the entire alimony amount, citing urgent medical and financial needs. She informed the court that she was unemployed, had undergone two major surgeries, and had depleted her savings over the past three years managing medical expenses. She added that she could no longer depend on her 87-year-old father, a retired bank employee. However, opposing the plea, the respondent's counsel, advocate Taubon Irani, claimed the woman had sufficient resources. He argued that her monthly expenses stood at Rs.15,000 and pointed out that the Family Court had previously ordered the respondent to pay her Rs.60,000 per month as interim maintenance. The division bench of justices G S Kulkarni and Advait M Sethna, after considering the submissions, allowed the unconditional withdrawal of Rs.1 crore from the alimony corpus. The court observed that the applicant had not received the interim maintenance since July 2022 and faced urgent financial and medical challenges. Referring to the respondent as a "man of means" with evident financial capacity, the bench dismissed the argument. "We cannot overlook basic humane considerations and the precarious financial position in which the applicant stands," the court noted....