Allahabad High Court denies maintenance to wife earning ₹73k and owning ₹80 lakh flat

The Allahabad High Court recently refused to grant maintenance to a woman employed as a software engineer with a monthly salary of ₹73,000 and an investment in a flat worth ₹80 lakh.

Justice Saurabh Lavanai ruled that she is financially capable of supporting herself.

Hence, it set aside a family court's direction to the woman's husband to grant ₹15,000 as monthly maintenance to her.

Nevertheless, the Court upheld the family court's direction to grant monthly maintenance of ₹25,000 to the child born out of the wedlock.

"Considering the aforesaid including undisputed facts according to which the opposite party no.2 (wife of revisionist) is a Software Engineer and is employed with TCS and presently earning ₹73,000 per month, which to the view of this Court is sufficient to enable her to maintain herself, as also that she has purchased a flat of ₹80,43,409, booked in the month of January, 2023, by providing a cheque of ₹47,670 dated 11.01.2023 to the builder/promoter, and in affidavit dated 06.05.2023 she indicated her income ₹50,000 per month approx., this Court is of the view that in granting maintenance to opposite party no.2, i.e. ₹15,000 per month, the Family Court committed error and direction of Family Court to provide ₹25,000 per month to opposite party no.3 (minor child of revisionist and opposite party no.2) is justified," the order dated August 20 said.

The Court was hearing a revision plea filed by the husband challenging the order passed by the family court in a case instituted for maintenance under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The family court had directed the husband, a software engineer earning about ₹1,75,000 per month, to pay maintenance of ₹15,000 per month to his wife and ₹25,000 per month to their minor son, effective from May 6, 2023, along with arrears to be cleared within three months in equal installments.

The Court noted that the wife was also employed as a software engineer with Tata Consultancy Services and with a monthly income of ₹73,000.

It was further noted that she had purchased a flat worth ₹80,43,409 in Lucknow and it was booked in January 2023.

The Court referred to the Supreme Court’s judgment in Rajnesh v Neha, which held that a wife’s income cannot be a complete bar to claiming maintenance, but the test is whether her income is sufficient to maintain herself in accordance with the standards of living in the matrimonial home.

The Court observed that the wife’s present income of ₹73,000 per month was sufficient for her maintenance, especially given her financial capacity to purchase a flat.

Accordingly, the High Court partly allowed the revision.

It thus set aside the family court’s direction requiring the husband to pay ₹15,000 per month to the wife, while upholding the order directing him to pay ₹25,000 per month towards the maintenance of the minor child.

Advocate Tilak Raj Singh and Brijendra Singh appeared for the husband.

Advocate Ram Kumar Singh and Vishwas Shukla appeared for the wife.