Wife entitled to ‘same standard of living’ as husband: Delhi HC quadruples maintenance to Rs 1.25 lakh
Taking into account the couple’s social status, lifestyle, financial condition, the needs of the child and wife, and the rising cost of living, the court enhanced the maintenance to Rs 1.5 lakh per month.
According to an official of the Delhi Fire Service (DFS), they received a call regarding the bomb threat at the High Court at 12.25 pm.
(File)
The Delhi High Court has held that a wife’s entitlement to maintenance depends not merely on whether she is employed or capable of earning, but on whether her income is sufficient to sustain the standard of living she enjoyed during cohabitation.
Increasing the maintenance amount for the wife fourfold, a division bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Renu Bhatnagar was hearing a woman’s plea challenging a trial court order that had awarded maintenance only for her minor daughter, while denying her any. The family court had directed the husband to pay Rs 35,000 a month along with school-related expenses for the child.
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Ruling in the wife’s favour on September 10, the bench noted the “stark disparity” in the couple’s incomes with one spouse earning Rs 1.25 lakh a month and the other over Rs 1 crore annually, in addition to stock options and other perks. “Even after deduction of income tax, there remains a vast difference between their incomes,” the court observed.
“The very purpose of interim maintenance is to strike a fair balance and ensure parity in lifestyle, so that the financially weaker spouse and the child are not prejudiced by the economic advantage of the other. The purpose of Section 24 of the HMA is not to equalise the incomes of the parties but to ensure that both maintain the same standard of living,” the court reasoned.
Taking into account the couple’s social status, lifestyle, financial condition, the needs of the child and wife, and the rising cost of living, the court enhanced the maintenance to Rs 1.5 lakh per month, cumulatively for both the wife and daughter.
According to an official of the Delhi Fire Service (DFS), they received a call regarding the bomb threat at the High Court at 12.25 pm.
(File) 
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