HC upholds trial court order directing wife to pay husband interim maintenance of Rs 10k

MUMBAI: It is not always that wives come to

Bombay high court

to challenge orders requiring them to pay

monthly maintenance

to their husbands. When three years ago a former bank manager did, the HC found no fault with a lower

court order

directing her to pay estranged

husband

Rs 10000 monthly. The HC said, under the

Hindu Marriage Act

, a ‘spouse’ in need of maintenance includes both, wife and husband, while their divorce battle played out.

Even after her resignation, she had a source of income,which her lawyer did not dispute, the court observed. The husband had none.
Justice Sharmila Deshmukh of the HC, in an April 2 order noted that the squabbling spouses were before a court in Kalyan, in the extended central suburbs. The husband had in 2016 filed for divorce. Pending any decree, both demanded

interim maintenance

from each other.
The local court however, found the husband was unable to support himself due to a disability. The wife did not dispute his inability.
But, unhappy that she had to pay, not him, the wife knocked at the HC. Justice Deshmukh finding no merits, dismissed her plea. After hearing their respective advocates, Rahul Arote for her and Raju S for him, on April 2 observed her lawyer demonstrated no legal infirmity.

The HC said for interim maintenance some “guesswork’’ is done by courts. In this case, though the wife claimed she had resigned from the Bank in 2019 and had a home loan to pay and a child to support, the husband claimed she was a branch manager earning Rs 65000 (monthly). The HC said even if her case of having expenses is accepted, it was necessary for her to show the expenses for the trial court to have assessed how much maintenance to grant. “unfortunately’’ she did not present any such details, said the HC, for which the trial court order can’t be found wanting.
The law
Section 24 Hindu Marriage Act
If the court finds that either the wife or the husband has no independent income sufficient for her or his support, it may, on a plea from either, order monthly maintenance during the pending proceedings based on their incomes.