3 min readNew DelhiSep 24, 2026 06:30 PM IST
The Calcutta High Court recently directed a dental surgeon to pay Rs 30,000 a month as interim maintenance to his estranged wife and child, noting that the wife had to resign from her contractual government job due to the husband’s compulsion.
Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya also noted that the husband claimed to earn only Rs 20,000 a month but had not disclosed his bank accounts and other financial details, leading it to draw an adverse inference against him.
“After going through the interim order, this court finds that the learned trial judge took note of the fact that the husband/petitioner is a dental surgeon by profession and also that owing to compulsion on the part of the husband/petitioner, the wife/opposite party had to resign from her contractual government job,” the court noted.
The court was hearing a revision plea challenging the trial court’s April 2025 order, which directed the man to pay Rs 20,000 a month to his wife and Rs 10,000 a month to their child as interim maintenance. The court upheld the trial court’s order on September 17.
‘Husband claimed maintenance too high’
The husband argued that the maintenance amount fixed by the trial court was too high and should be reduced. He said he did not have enough income to pay Rs 30,000 a month and relied on the affidavit of assets and liabilities submitted by him.
Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya found that the wife had to resign from her contractual government job due to the husband’s compulsion.
The court examined the affidavit and found that the husband had declared his monthly income as Rs 20,000. Apart from this, he had marked all other details relating to his movable and immovable assets and income as ‘not applicable’.
The Calcutta High Court then questioned his lawyer, who said that bank statements and income tax returns could be produced if the court permitted it.
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“However, it appears that the petitioner is maintaining bank accounts which have been suppressed in the affidavit of assets and liabilities,” the court held.
The court said an adverse inference had to be drawn against the husband because he had not produced relevant financial documents that would have helped the trial court decide the appropriate amount of maintenance.
It accordingly held that the trial court had applied the correct legal tests while fixing the interim maintenance at Rs 20,000 a month for the wife and Rs 10,000 for the child.
The Calcutta High Court found no reason to interfere with the trial court’s order and dismissed the husband’s revision plea.
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The doctor was represented by advocates Maidul Kayal Islam and Tapati Sarkar.
Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya found that the wife had to resign from her contractual government job due to the husband’s compulsion.