India, June 17 -- The Bombay High Court on Monday ruled that though a maintenance decree in favour of a divorced wife remains enforceable against the estate of her deceased husband, she cannot seek enhancement in maintenance after her husband's death.

Dismissing a petition filed by a 62-year-old woman seeking enhancement in her monthly maintenance, a division bench of justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande said, "Allowing such claims for enhancement would open the floodgates to litigation as it would allow the ex-wives to repeatedly file applications for enhancement against the heirs of deceased ex-husband on the pretext that the estate of the deceased in the hands of the legal heirs has flourished."

The petitioner and her decea...