Financially Self-Sufficient Wife Not Entitled To Maintenance By Default: Karnataka HC

The Karnataka High Court has remarked that courts should not be inclined to grant maintenance to a wife if she is financially independent and earns more than her husband.

While setting aside a trial court order directing a husband to pay Rs 20,000 per month as interim maintenance to his estranged wife, a single judge bench of Justice Chillakur Sumalatha said that the court would have to assess the circumstances of the wife while passing such maintenance awards, Bar and Bench reported.

The High Court said that the maintenance should not be awarded merely on the assumption that a husband is always required to financially support his wife. It stressed that courts must examine the financial condition of both parties before passing such orders.

“When

the wife is financially sound and her income is more than that of the husband, and she has no additional responsibilities such as taking care of children, courts should not be inclined to grant maintenance merely because she is a woman or a wife,” the court observed as quoted by the news outlet.

It added that maintenance should be granted only if the wife is unable to maintain herself in accordance with the standard of living enjoyed by her husband.

“Only when it is shown that the wife has no financial sources to maintain herself according to the standards of her husband, then only Courts are required to award maintenance either interim or final,” the high court noted.

The husband had challenged the trial court’s order, arguing that he earned around Rs 60,000 per month while his wife had an income of over Rs 1 lakh per month. He contended that the lower court had failed to consider her earnings before awarding interim maintenance.

The wife argued that she was burdened with debts incurred for her marriage. However, the High Court noted that she had not provided details of the outstanding loans, EMIs or liabilities in her affidavit.

Finding merit in the husband’s plea, the court held that the wife was financially capable of maintaining herself and there was no justification for directing the husband to pay Rs 20,000 per month from his monthly income of around Rs 60,600.

The High Court clarified that its observations relate only to the interim maintenance order under challenge and will not affect the final adjudication of the matrimonial dispute. It also said the wife is free to seek maintenance in future if there is a change in circumstances.