Read the court’s comment on alimony

New Delhi: Delhi High Court has made a big comment regarding the dispute related to maintenance between husband and wife. The court said that whichever spouse is capable of earning but prefers to remain unemployed without any compelling reason, then he or she cannot be allowed to burden the spouse with the cost of maintenance. The Division Bench of Justice V Kameshwar Rao and Justice Anup Kumar Mendiratta said this on Tuesday. Also, in one case, the alimony given to the wife during the divorce proceedings filed by the husband was reduced.

The bench said, ‘If the husband or wife has the capacity to earn, but does not make honest efforts to obtain employment without any reason. If the person prefers to remain unemployed, then the responsibility of meeting the expenses cannot be imposed unilaterally on the other party.’ The court said that the amount of maintenance should not be calculated on mathematical basis. In such cases, it should be done for the purpose of providing relief to the husband or wife who is unable to maintain himself.

The bench said that the provision for maintenance during the pendency of divorce proceedings under the Hindu Marriage Act is gender-neutral. It states that the provisions of Sections 24 and 25 of the HMA deal with the rights, liabilities and obligations associated with marriage. In the appeal filed in the High Court, the husband had challenged the order directing him to pay Rs 30,000 every month to the wife during the pendency of the divorce proceedings. The lawyer said he was directed to pay Rs 21,000 to his wife under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act and this was increased to Rs 30,000 in the HMA proceedings.