The Allahabad High Court has set aside the order passed by the Family Court, which had denied maintenance to the wife and granted only a meagre amount to the minor son, observing that mere educational qualification or earning capacity cannot be a ground to deny maintenance under section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The case arose from an order of the family court whereby the claim of the wife for maintenance on the ground that she was living separately without sufficient cause and allegedly concealed her education qualification has been rejected, while awarding Rs. 3,000 per month to the minor son. Aggrieved by the same, the wife has approached the High Court for the maintenance for herself and the enhancement of the amount awarded to the child.
Allowing the appeal, the bench of Justice Garima Prashad has held that the family court has erred in applying Section 125(4) of the CrPC and failed to appreciate that educational qualifications alone do not establish actual earnings. Further, the court has noted that no finding has been recorded to show that the wife was gainfully employed or that the husband’s income and obligation to maintain were not properly considered.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s decision in Rajnesh vs. Neha((2021) 2 SCC 324), the court reiterated that the maintenance amount must be determined on a realistic assessment of the husband’s income and liabilities and that, as a guiding framework, the maintenance amount should be about 25% of the net salary of the husband, subject to the facts of each case. The court has held that these principles had not been followed by the court when maintenance was determined.
Accordingly, the impugned order was set aside and remanded back to the family court for a fresh determination of maintenance in accordance with the principle governing the grant of maintenance, and the court was directed to pass a reasoned order within one month.
Appearance:
Advocate Deepak Kumar Yadav for the Revisionist
Advocate Kumar Dhananjay holding brief of Advocate Shashank Tripathi for the opposite party No. 2
