The Punjab and Haryana High Court has stated that a husband has both a legal and moral obligation to support his wife financially, even if he is a professional beggar and his wife is unable to support herself. This ruling came as the court dismissed a petition filed by a husband who was contesting a lower court’s decision to award his wife Rs. 5,000 per month as maintenance during their divorce proceedings.
The court noted that the petitioner, who is physically capable of working, cannot be excused from his responsibility to provide financial support to his wife, especially given the current economic conditions. The court also mentioned that even a manual laborer can earn a minimum of Rs. 500 per day, and the cost of basic necessities is increasing rapidly, so the maintenance amount awarded to the wife is not excessive.
The case involved a divorce petition filed by the petitioner’s wife, who also sought maintenance pendente lite of Rs. 15,000 per month, as well as litigation expenses of Rs. 11,000, under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act.
The trial court granted maintenance pendente lite at the rate of Rs. 5,000 per month to the wife of the petitioner, who had filed a divorce petition and a Section 24 application seeking financial support. The court also ordered the husband to pay his wife Rs. 5,500 as litigation expenses and Rs. 500 per hearing for her presence in court.
The husband challenged this order by filing a revision plea in the High Court. However, the court rejected the plea, stating that a husband has a moral and legal responsibility to financially support his wife, even if he is a beggar. The husband could not prove that his wife had any means of earning or sufficient property to support herself. As a result, the trial court’s decision to grant maintenance and litigation expenses to the wife was justified under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act.
Source: https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/punjab-and-haryana-high-court-professional-beggar-moral-legal-liability-maintain-wife-unable-maintain-herself-225086
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