Mumbai: In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court has held that even if a husband is jobless, he is bound to maintain his wife and children and cannot cite his unemployment as an excuse for not paying the monthly maintenance. The HC said the earning capacity of a husband cannot be lost sight of and accordingly ordered a man to pay maintenance to his estranged wife.
A single-judge bench of Justice Nitin Sambre pronounced the ruling while dismissing a plea filed by a husband challenging the orders of a Family Court of Pune, which had ordered him to pay monthly maintenance of Rs 10,000 each to his estranged wife and child.
The husband claimed that the Family court had already ordered him to pay Rs 15,000 to his wife and child, under provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act. “However, the court erred in ordering additional maintenance of Rs 10,000 each to my wife and child, under the provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act,” the husband argued.
Further trying to convince Justice Sambre, the husband apprised the bench of the fact that he has left his job in Canada and has returned to India and is presently unemployed. He claimed that he would not be able to pay the additional maintenance owing to his unemployment.
Having heard the contentions, Justice Sambre noted, “As per the husband's educational qualification, he is a chemical engineer and has completed his MBA course. It is also required to be noted that while he was working in Canada, he was admittedly earning around Rs two lakh per month.”
“Even if the husband is not employed as on date, that is to say, he is not earning anything which is admitted by the wife, this court cannot be oblivious to earning capacity of the husband and his responsibility to maintain the wife and his child,” Justice Sambre ruled.
The bench accordingly dismissed the plea stating, “In my considered opinion, the order of maintenance appears to be reasonable. No interference is warranted in the Family Court's order, thus the present petition fails.”
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