The Karnataka High Court has ruled that a husband is obligated to financially support his wife and child if the wife quits her job to care for the child at the husband’s insistence. The Court upheld the dismissal of a petition by the husband challenging orders related to interim maintenance payments.
Justice M. Nagaprasanna, presiding over the case, clarified that the husband’s payment of the child’s school fees does not exempt him from providing maintenance. The judge stated, “The wife quit her job to take care of the child at the husband’s request. It is the husband’s duty to maintain both the wife and child. Paying school fees is a separate responsibility and does not replace the need for maintenance.”
In the case, the trial court had directed the husband to pay interim maintenance to his wife and their five-year-old daughter. The wife had initiated legal action under several laws, including Section 498A of the IPC, Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, and Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (DV Act). She requested interim maintenance for herself and their child, which the courts approved.
The husband argued that, as an Assistant Professor, his income was insufficient to meet the maintenance order, especially since he had been covering the child’s school fees since 2022. He also contended that his wife, who was previously employed at Infosys, should not need maintenance.
However, the High Court dismissed his arguments, emphasizing that the husband’s responsibility extends beyond just paying school fees. The Court found the husband in “gross default in payment of maintenance” and ruled that, regardless of whether the wife was previously employed, the husband is required to pay interim maintenance.
As a result, the High Court rejected the husband’s petition, affirming the trial court’s decision.
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