Karnataka High Court Says Husband Must Maintain Wife and Child After She Quit Job on His Request
The Karnataka High Court has ruled that a husband must provide financial support to his wife and child, especially when the wife left her job to care for the child because the husband asked her to.
Justice M. Nagaprasanna gave this judgment while rejecting a petition filed by the husband. The husband had challenged earlier court orders asking him to pay interim maintenance (temporary financial support).
The court clearly said that just because the husband is paying school fees for the child, it doesn’t mean he is free from the duty of giving maintenance. Paying school fees is different from giving money for daily living expenses.
In this case, the wife had filed complaints under Section 498A of the IPC (cruelty), the Dowry Prohibition Act, and the Domestic Violence Act. She also asked for interim maintenance for herself and their five-year-old daughter. The trial court agreed and asked the husband to pay.
The husband argued that he works as an Assistant Professor and doesn’t earn enough to pay maintenance. He also said that he had already paid the full school fees for their child since 2022. He claimed that his wife used to work at Infosys and should not need financial support.
But the High Court did not accept his arguments. The judge said that the wife quit her job to take care of the child, as requested by the husband. So, it is the husband’s responsibility to support both the wife and the child. The court also noted that the husband was in serious default of paying the maintenance amount.
The court emphasized that even if the wife had a job before, the husband still has to fulfill his legal duty to support his family.
In the end, the High Court rejected the husband’s petition and upheld the decision to grant maintenance to the wife and child.
Be a part our social media community:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IndianMan.in?mibextid=ZbWKwL
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/indianman.in?igsh=MWZ2N3N0ZmpwM3l3cw==
