Mother earning ₹1.5 lakh a month no ground to reduce father’s liability for child maintenance: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Thursday held that a mother of a child being financially independent is not, by itself, a reason to reduce the father’s maintenance obligation towards his children.

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta restored an interim maintenance award of ₹60,000 per month for two minor daughters after holding that their mother’s monthly earnings of ₹1.5 lakh could not justify halving the father’s liability.

The Court said the obligation to maintain children is shared by both parents but cannot be divided through a simple mathematical calculation.

“That the appellant-wife earns is not, by itself, a reason to halve the father’s liability. The obligation to maintain the children is shared by both parents, but it cannot be divided by arithmetic alone. The daughters live with the appellant-wife, who looks after their daily needs and upbringing while also working. Such care cannot be measured in money, but it is a real contribution, and often the greater one,” the Court said.

The Court was hearing an appeal by the mother and her two daughters against an Allahabad High Court order that had reduced the father’s monthly maintenance obligation from ₹60,000 to ₹30,000, fixing it at ₹15,000 for each daughter, after taking into account that the mother was also earning ₹1.5 lakh a month.

The Supreme Court found no basis for the reduction, noting that the High Court had itself accepted that ₹60,000 per month was sufficient for the two daughters having regard to the status of their parents.

The Court also took into account the fact that the daughters, aged about nine and eight, lived with their mother, who was responsible for their daily needs and upbringing while also working as a gynaecologist.

The Court said such caregiving constituted a contribution that could not be reduced to a monetary calculation.

The Court further observed that the husband, a qualified doctor, himself claimed to earn ₹2 lakh per month.

“Even if the wife’s earnings are left out of account, the reduction cannot stand. The respondent-husband is a qualified doctor and on his own showing earns Rs.2,00,000/- (Rupees Two Lakhs only) per month. For two school-going daughters aged about nine and eight years, a sum of Rs.60,000/- (Rupees Sixty Thousand only) per month is not a large amount for a father in his position. Their upbringing and education require as much,” the Court said.

The Court accordingly set aside the High Court’s order and restored the family court’s order awarding ₹30,000 per month to each daughter.

The husband was directed to pay any arrears to the wife within three months.