“Pendente lite” means “while the suit is pending”, that is, during a case and before the court gives its final decision. Indian Acts use the Latin phrase in section headings and explain it in the text: Section 36 of the Divorce Act, 1869, “Alimony pendente lite”, speaks of “alimony pending the suit”, and Section 247 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, “Administration pendente lite”, begins “Pending any suit”. The official Hindi text of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 renders “Maintenance pendente lite” (Section 24) as “\u0935\u093e\u0926 \u0932\u092e\u094d\u092c\u093f\u0924 \u0930\u0939\u0924\u0947 \u092d\u0930\u0923-\u092a\u094b\u0937\u0923”, maintenance while the suit is pending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This post explains the four places where Indian law uses the idea: maintenance and litigation expenses for a spouse during a matrimonial case, interest while a money suit is pending, transfer of property that is the subject of a pending suit, and administration of a dead person’s estate while a suit about the will, probate or letters of administration is pending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pendente lite at a glance<\/p>\n
Reviewed and updated by Century Law Firm, Delhi \u2013 October 2026. Statutory references are to the Acts as in force on that date. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (as on 15 April 2026) and its official Hindi text, the Special Marriage Act, 1954 (as on 15 April 2026), the Divorce Act, 1869, the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (as on 10 January 2026), the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 and its official Hindi text, the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (as on 1 June 2026), the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (as on 19 June 2026), the Limitation Act, 1963 (as on 30 August 2026), the Family Courts Act, 1984 and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (as on 6 October 2025) are quoted from their texts on India Code, and Rajnesh v. Neha (2020) from the Supreme Court’s own copy.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In Indian law, pendente lite describes the period between the filing of a case and its final disposal, and the interim orders a court makes for that period, as opposed to the final decree or order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No Act defines the phrase. It appears as a section heading in the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (Section 24, “Maintenance pendente lite and expenses of proceedings”), the Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Divorce Act, 1869 (Section 36 of each, “Alimony pendente lite”) and the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (Section 247, “Administration pendente lite”).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other laws describe the same period without the Latin, such as Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act (“Transfer of property pending suit relating thereto”) and Section 34 of the Code of Civil Procedure (interest “from the date of the suit to the date of the decree”). The “lite” here is not the English word “lite”; it is part of the Latin phrase. The related term lis pendens<\/em> is the name commonly given to the rule in Section 52 (see the firm’s guide to lis pendens in India<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Examples: a wife with no income of her own in a divorce case under the Hindu Marriage Act may get a monthly sum and her litigation costs while the case goes on (maintenance pendente lite); a money decree may award interest for the years the suit was pending (interest pendente lite); a defendant who sells a plot while a suit about its title is pending makes a transfer pendente lite.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat does pendente lite mean in law?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pendente lite: examples<\/h3>\n\n\n\n