Punjab and Haryana High Court: Husband Must Pay Maintenance Even if He is a Professional Beggar
The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently dismissed a husband’s plea challenging a lower court’s maintenance order. The court emphasized that even if a husband is a professional beggar, he is still morally and legally obligated to maintain his wife if she cannot support herself.
Case Background
Justice HS Madaan heard the plea from a husband contesting a lower court’s decision that required him to pay Rs 5,000 per month in maintenance to his wife, who is currently involved in a divorce case against him. The wife had initially requested Rs 15,000 per month for maintenance and Rs 11,000 for litigation expenses under the Hindu Marriage Act. However, the lower court granted her Rs 5,000 per month and a lump sum of Rs 5,500 for litigation expenses.
Court’s Decision
Justice Madaan noted that the husband is physically capable and should be able to earn a living, highlighting that even a laborer can earn Rs 500 per day. He stated that the maintenance amount set by the lower court was reasonable given the rising cost of living.
“Husband is an able-bodied person and nowadays, even a manual laborer manages to earn Rs 500 or more per day. Considering the rising prices and the cost of basic needs, the maintenance awarded cannot be considered excessive,” Justice Madaan observed.
Moral and Legal Obligation
The High Court further stressed that a husband has both a moral and legal duty to support his wife if she cannot maintain herself. The court pointed out that the husband failed to prove that his wife had any independent means of income or sufficient property.
“Of course, a husband has got a moral and legal liability to maintain his wife unable to maintain herself, even if he is a professional beggar. The respondent/husband could not establish on record that petitioner wife (herein respondent) has got any means of earning or is possessed of sufficient property,” the High Court stated.
The court dismissed the husband’s appeal and upheld the lower court’s maintenance order.
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