Qualified wife who sits idle can be denied interim maintenance: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court recently dismissed a woman’s appeal challenging the denial of maintenance to her during the pendency of a divorce plea filed by her husband.

The Court was dealing with a case involving a couple where the wife is a gynaecologist and her husband is a neurosurgeon. The wife alleged that she was removed from her job by a hospital after her husband filed a case and thus, was entitled to the support.

However, the Division Bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Vivek Saran said she was a gynaecologist capable of earning handsomely in her line of expertise. The Court rejected the argument that she was not working presently.

“Where a qualified person is capable of earning more than enough through the use of her expertise and still refrains from doing so only to impose a burden upon her husband, in such a situation the Courts can deny maintenance under Section 24 [of Hindu Marriage Act],” the Bench said in an order passed on April 21.

The wife had challenged a family court order by which the husband was asked to pay ₹60,000 maintenance for their children but her application for interim maintenance under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act was dismissed.

The husband argued that she is a trained specialized gynecologist who can earn more than him in a State like Uttar Pradesh. The Court agreed with the contention and dismissed the wife’s appeal.

Advocates Akarsh Dwivedi, Mrigendra Singh and Suvrat Dwivedi appeared for the wife.

Advocates Abhishek Tripathi, Firoz Haider, Priya Saxena and Sanjay Kumar Pal represented the husband.