Recently, the Delhi High Court, in a significant ruling, has enhanced the monthly maintenance payable by a husband to his estranged wife and child from Rs. 35,000 to Rs. 1.5 lakh, holding that a wife’s right to live with dignity cannot be defeated merely because she is employed.
The case involved a Delhi University assistant professor earning over Rs. 1.2 lakh per month and her husband, a senior data scientist with a multinational company, whose annual income exceeds Rs. 1 crore, along with stock options and travel perks. The family court had earlier fixed maintenance at Rs. 35,000, payable only for the child.
Challenging the order, the wife argued that despite her respectable salary, her earnings were insufficient to match the superior standard of living she and her child had enjoyed during the marriage. She pointed to the glaring disparity between her income and her husband’s, stating that she had been compelled to live with her parents, causing inconvenience and hardship.
The Court agreed, observing that the husband’s income was nearly ten times higher. It held that self-sufficiency must be judged relative to the standard of living during the marriage, not in absolute monetary terms. The court underlined that her earnings were “respectable but not comparable to the scale and diversity” of her husband’s income.
The Court emphasized that the wife and child were entitled to maintain the same lifestyle they enjoyed during the matrimonial relationship. The court enhanced the monthly maintenance to Rs. 1.5 lakh and highlighted that the purpose of maintenance is not mere subsistence but ensuring a life of dignity comparable to that enjoyed during the marriage.
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