The Delhi High Court has articulated the position that in cases where both spouses possess commensurate qualifications and earn comparable incomes, the wife is ineligible for interim maintenance as prescribed under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act.
A divisional bench, comprising Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, has affirmed that the fundamental objective of Section 24 is to preclude either party from experiencing financial hardship that could impede their engagement in matrimonial legal proceedings due to financial constraints.
Furthermore, the court has underscored that the provision for interim maintenance was originally established with the principal aim of facilitating either spouse in meeting the financial obligations associated with legal proceedings and ensuring their capacity to sustain a reasonable standard of living during the pendency of such legal actions.
“The proceedings under Section 24 of the Act are not intended to equalize the income of both the spouses or to give an interim maintenance which is commensurate to maintain a similar life style as the other spouse as has been observed by this Court in the case of K.N. vs. R.G MAT. APP.(FC) 93/2018 decided on 12.02.2019.”
These court observations were rendered in the context of concurrent appeals filed by both the husband and the wife in response to a family court order. The family court’s order mandated that the husband provide monthly maintenance of Rs. 40,000 for the child, while simultaneously denying any maintenance for the wife.
In his appeal, the husband sought a reduction in the maintenance amount, while the wife, in her appeal, requested maintenance of Rs. 2 lakhs for herself and an increase in the child’s maintenance from Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 60,000 per month. The marital union between the couple was solemnized in 2014, with their child born in 2016. Subsequently, they underwent separation in 2020.
The court meticulously considered the fact that both the wife and the husband possessed substantial educational qualifications and professional backgrounds. The wife earned a monthly income of Rs. 2.5 lakhs, and the husband’s income, when converted from USD 7134 to Indian rupees, was commensurate with her earnings.
“Though the husband may be earning in dollars, but it cannot be overlooked that his expenditure is also in dollars. He has explained that he has a monthly expense of about USD 7000 and is left with little money for saving. His calculations are duly supported by the documents,” the court said.
Taking into account the respective financial capacities of the wife and husband, and in recognition of their shared legal duty to financially support the child, the court has rendered a decision to modify the initial child maintenance amount from Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 25,000 per month.
