Supreme Court: Borrowers Retain Redemption Rights if Balance is Paid After Auction Deadline  ||  Supreme Court: Non-Confirmation of Seizure under Section 37A Impacts Adjudication Proceedings  ||  SC: Blacklisting After Contract Termination is Not Automatic and Needs Independent Review  ||  Grand Venice Fraud Case: Supreme Court Cancels Bail of Satinder Singh Bhasin  ||  SC: Senior Employee Cannot Claim Same Lesser Penalty As Subordinate; Bank Manager's Dismissal Upheld  ||  Madras HC: Governor Must Follow Cabinet's Advice on Remission Decisions, Regardless of Personal View  ||  Kerala High Court: Entrepreneurs Must Be Protected From Baseless Protests to Boost Industrial Growth  ||  J&K&L High Court: Second FIR Valid if it Reveals a Broader Conspiracy; 'Test of Sameness' is Key  ||  Supreme Court: Expecting a Minor to Respond to a Public Court Notice is ‘Perverse’  ||  SC: Order 23 Rule 1 CPC Applies to S. 11 Arbitration Act, Barring Fresh Arbiration After Abandonment    

Chetram Mali vs. Karishma Saini (Neutral Citation: 2023:DHC:8322-DB) - (High Court of Delhi) (21 Nov 2023)

Maintenance provisions under Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 are gender neutral

MANU/DE/7763/2023

Family

Present appeal arises out of an Order passed by the learned Family Court Judge by which appellant was directed to pay the respondent a sum of ₹30,000/- per month towards maintenance pendente lite from the date of filing of the divorce petition till its disposal along with litigation expenses of ₹51,000/-.

The appellant was directed to pay a sum of ₹21,000/- per month as maintenance in the proceedings under Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, which was enhanced to ₹30,000/- in the proceedings under Section 24 of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA) without any change in circumstances. The appellant who has to support his aged parents and siblings is the only earning member with a gross salary of ₹1,04,276/- and the net salary received by the appellant after deductions and recoveries is ₹56,492/-.

The respondent claims to have no independent source of income but has reasonable educational background being a graduate from Delhi University. She appears to have voluntarily undertaken social work as claimed despite there being no impediment for undertaking a meaningful employment.

Therefore, the Court observed that the spouse having a reasonable capacity of earning but who chooses to remain unemployed and idle without any sufficient explanation or indicating sincere efforts to gain employment should not be permitted to saddle the other party with one sided responsibility of meeting out the expenses. The equivalence does not have to be with mathematical precision but with the objective to provide relief to the spouse by way of maintenance pendente lite and litigation expenses, who is unable to maintain and support during the pendency of proceedings and to ensure that party should not suffer due to paucity of source of income. The provision is gender neutral and the provisions of Sections 24 & 25 of HMA provide for the rights, liabilities and obligations arising from marriage between the parties under HMA. Appeal disposed off.

Tags : FAMILY   MAINTENANCE   GENDER NEUTRAL  

Share :        

Disclaimer | Copyright 2026 - All Rights Reserved