Father cannot be absolved of maintaining child after divorce: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has held that the liability and responsibility of a father to maintain the child continues till the age of majority despite dissolution of the parents’ marriage (Neha Tyagi vs. Lieutenant Colonel Deepak Tyagi)..A Bench of Justices MR Shah and AS Bopanna was hearing an appeal by a wife against the judgment of the Rajasthan High Court, that confirmed a dissolution of marriage decree ordered by the Family Court between the appellant and respondent on the grounds of cruelty and desertion by the appellant..The respondent was a serving Army Officer and during the course of their marriage, the appellant filed several complaints against him before his employer including complaints of extramarital affairs.After an enquiry was conducted against the respondent by the Army, the respondent was exonerated. She then filed a case in the Jaipur Family Court seeking a decree of divorce and dissolution of marriage on the ground of cruelty and desertion by the appellant. The plea was allowed..The counsel for the appellant, referencing the status quo order previously passed by the apex court in the case, submitted that the respondent had remarried and therefore, was not appearing in the present proceedings.The Court found it “very unfortunate” that despite being served, the respondent had not appeared in the appeal..The appellant urged that should the Court decide to pass a decree of dissolution, the findings of cruelty against the appellant may be expunged and the marriage be dissolved on account of an irretrievable breakdown since both parties were residing separately since 2011 and the husband was already re-married..However, the appellant-wife submitted that she and her son aged 13 years, were not being paid maintenance by the respondent which they were receiving from the Army authorities until November 2019. She prayed that the respondent be directed to pay the same for both of them as they had no independent income..The Bench opined that no useful purpose would be served to enter into the merits of the findings on cruelty and desertion since there was already an irretrievable breakdown of marriage between the parties.“It can be said that there is irretrievable breakdown of marriage between them. It is also reported that the respondent-husband has already re-married. Therefore, no useful purpose shall be served to further enter into the merits of the findings recorded by the courts below on “cruelty” and “desertion” by the appellant-wife,” the Court said.Therefore, the decree of dissolution passed by the Family Court was upheld by the Supreme Court..However, the Court emphasised that the respondent owed responsibility to his son till he became an adult. It, therefore, directed the respondent to pay ₹50,000 per month with effect from December 2019 to the appellant. He was also directed to pay the arrears of the same amount within eight weeks..It was further directed that future maintenance be deducted directly from his salary by the Army and credited to the appellant’s bank account.In case the respondent fails to pay the arrears within eight weeks, the Army authorities were directed to deduct the same in monthly installments from his salary without exceeding 50 per cent of his total monthly pay..Advocate Neela Gokhale appeared for the appellant..[Read Judgment]