3 weeks ago
Allahabad High Court upholds Rs 20,000 monthly maintenance to wife
A judge in India made an important decision about money a husband pays to his wife when they no longer live together.
The court said that taking care of a wife and children is not a gift or a choice, but a husband's duty.
It is also a social and moral responsibility.
The judge said the husband must pay his wife 20,000 rupees every month.
The wife said her husband and his family were unkind to her and even asked for extra gifts called dowry.
She said she has no job and no money of her own.
Her husband works as a software engineer and earns about 70,000 rupees a month.
The court looked at everything and said the earlier judge's decision was fair.
A husband's role as provider means his family should not be poor or left in trouble.
So the court kept the order, and the husband must keep paying the monthly amount.
The Allahabad High Court dismissed a husband's challenge to a family court order directing him to pay Rs 20,000 per month in maintenance to his wife.
Justice Achal Sachdev ruled that maintenance is a statutory right, not a matter of charity, and a husband's duty to maintain his wife is a social and moral responsibility.
The couple married on July 24, 2017 under Hindu customs; the wife has lived at her parental home since April 2, 2018, alleging harassment and cruelty over dowry demands.
The wife alleged her husband's family demanded a Swift car and a 100-square-yard plot as additional dowry, and claimed she had no independent income; her husband is a software engineer earning around Rs 70,000 per month.
The court cited Supreme Court rulings in Bhuvan Mohan Singh v Meena and Chaturbhuj v Sitabai, calling the family court order 'very well reasoned and justified.'
- Who
- The Allahabad High Court, presiding judge Justice Achal Sachdev, and an estranged husband and wife who married under Hindu customs.
- What
- The court dismissed the husband's criminal revision and upheld a family court order requiring him to pay Rs 20,000 per month in maintenance to his wife.
- Where
- At the Allahabad High Court, India.
- When
- The family court issued its order on March 30, 2024; the High Court's decision date is not stated in the article.
- Why
- The court held that maintenance is a statutory right, not charity, and that a husband has a legal, social and moral duty to maintain his wife and minor child, especially when the wife has no income of her own.
Wife's Position
Husband's Position
Maintenance amount
Wife's Position
The wife sought Rs 30,000 per month, saying her husband, a software engineer earning around Rs 70,000 a month, had sufficient financial resources while she had no independent income.
Husband's Position
The husband challenged the family court's order through a criminal revision, opposing the Rs 20,000 per month maintenance award; his counsel was absent when the High Court heard the case.
Reasons for separation
Wife's Position
The wife said she left the marital home after alleging harassment, cruelty and assault linked to demands for additional dowry, including a Swift car and a 100-square-yard plot.
Husband's Position
The article notes these were the wife's allegations and not independent findings of the high court; the husband disputed the family court's ruling by filing the revision.
Key facts
- Court
- Allahabad High Court
- Presiding judge
- Justice Achal Sachdev
- Maintenance awarded
- Rs 20,000 per month
- Family court order date
- March 30, 2024
- Wedding date
- July 24, 2017 (Hindu customs)
- Husband's occupation
- Software engineer earning around Rs 70,000 per month (per wife's claim)
- Amount sought by wife
- Rs 30,000 per month
- Wife's situation
- Living at parental home since April 2, 2018; no independent income per her claim
Quotes
Justice Achal Sachdev
Allahabad High Court judge
“"The right to maintenance is not a matter of charity, but a statutory right flowing from marital point and parental duty."”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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