Spouse Choosing To Remain Unemployed Should Not Burden Partner With Maintenance: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has held that a person who chooses to remain unemployed despite having earning capacity cannot burden an estranged partner with their maintenance.
The Delhi HC bench of Justice V Kameswar Rao and Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta made the observation while hearing the plea by a man challenging a Family Court's order to provide interim maintenance of Rs 30,000 to his estranged wife during the pendency of divorce proceedings.
What is the case?
The petitioner argued that his estranged wife was a graduate and was earlier earning Rs 25,000 a month working as a receptionist at a hospital.
He also argued that he was directed to pay Rs 21,000 to his wife under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, but the amount was increased to Rs 30,000 under the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA).
According to the petitioner, he was earning only Rs 56,492 after all the deductions and had to support his elderly parents, his sisters, brother and repay a loan taken by him for his brother's marriage.
What wife said
The estranged wife's lawyer argued that she was merely a social worker and not receiving any salary from the hospital where she presently worked.
Considering all the details, the Delhi HC on Tuesday said that the wife was voluntarily working as a social worker despite being a graduate.
Why HC accepted husband's plea
"The spouse having a reasonable capacity of earning but who chooses to remain unemployed and idle without any sufficient explanation or indicating sincere efforts to gain employment should not be permitted to saddle the other party with one-sided responsibility of meeting out the expenses," a bench said.
The HC also noted that it did not find any ground for the Family Court to increase the interim maintenance and accepted the husband's plea to reduce the amount to the original Rs 21,000 per month.
Woman working after marriage is not cruelty?
In a related case in 2022, the Bombay High Court had said that a woman's wish to go to work after she is married doesn't amount to cruelty and thus is not a ground for seeking divorce.
The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court made the ruling in a case filed by a man seeking divorce from his wife, who he said often fought with him as?she wanted to work?and, threatened him that she wouldn't beget a child till she secures a job.
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