The Allahabad High Court has held that a wife who chooses to live separately from her husband without a valid reason is not entitled to maintenance under Section 125(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
Justice Subhas Chandra Sharma delivered the ruling while allowing a revision petition filed by Vipul Agrawal. He had challenged a family court order dated February 17, which directed him to pay ₹5,000 per month to his wife as maintenance.
The High Court pointed out that the trial court itself had noted that the wife failed to prove valid grounds for living apart, yet it still granted her maintenance. This, the Court said, was contradictory and legally incorrect, since the law clearly bars maintenance in such cases.
The husband also argued that the trial court did not properly assess his earning capacity before fixing a total maintenance of ₹8,000 per month — ₹5,000 for the wife and ₹3,000 for their minor child.
The wife’s counsel claimed that the separation was due to the husband’s neglect. However, the High Court found inconsistencies in the lower court’s findings and ruled that the order was flawed. It set aside the earlier decision and directed the family court to rehear the case after giving both sides an equal chance to present their arguments.
As an interim relief, the Court ordered the husband to pay ₹3,000 per month to the wife and ₹2,000 per month to the child until the matter is reconsidered.
This judgment reinforces the legal principle that maintenance cannot be claimed if a wife is living separately from her husband without sufficient justification.
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