Allahabad High Court: Father Must Support Child Even If Mother Is Working
The Allahabad High Court has ruled that a father is legally responsible for financially supporting his child, even if the child’s mother is earning. The court emphasized that a father’s duty to maintain his child is not waived simply because the child does not show affection toward him.
Justice Raj Beer Singh made this observation while setting aside a Family Court decision that had rejected a daughter’s request for maintenance under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). The lower court had denied her plea, stating that her mother, who has a stable income, was already taking care of her needs.
However, the High Court found this reasoning flawed. It noted that the mother had not disclosed her income details honestly, while the father had disclosed his salary. The Court emphasized that financial support for a child is a shared legal duty, and the earning status of one parent does not exempt the other from responsibility.
The daughter, through her legal plea, requested ₹10,000 per month in interim maintenance and ₹40 lakhs for her education and marriage expenses while the case is ongoing.
The father argued that since he and his wife live separately and the mother has a steady income, she should handle the financial responsibility. He also claimed he wanted to take the daughter into his care. But the court rejected this defense.
The High Court strongly criticized the lower court’s opinion that the daughter was emotionally distant from her father, saying such claims are irrelevant to the legal duty of maintenance. The judge stated:
“It is the father’s duty to maintain his child. The daughter is entitled to financial support from her father, regardless of her emotional connection or the mother’s income.”
The High Court ruled that the previous order was not legally valid and instructed the Family Court to reconsider the daughter’s maintenance request and issue a new order within three months.
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