NEW DELHI: The Karnataka high court has ruled that a wife who earns more than her husband cannot claim maintenance simply because she is a woman. The court stressed that maintenance cannot be awarded on gender-based assumptions and that financial circumstances of both parties must be examined before passing such orders.The court set aside a family court order directing the husband to pay his estranged wife Rs 20,000 per month as interim maintenance.What was the dispute about?The husband challenged a family court order before the Karnataka high court, arguing that his estranged wife was earning around Rs 1 lakh per month while his own monthly salary was Rs 60,646.He further contended that she was financially self-sufficient and had no need for maintenance. The wife countered that she needed the amount to clear debts incurred for her marriage. However, she failed to provide any details of the pending loans, unpaid amounts or EMIs in her affidavit, as per a report by Bar and Bench.What did the court say?Justice Chillakur Sumalatha allowed the husband’s petition and set aside the interim maintenance order.The high court held that family courts should not be swayed by the assumption that wives must always be maintained by husbands.“When the wife is financially sound and in case where the income of the wife is more than that of the husband and where no other liabilities are found on part of the wife, like looking after the children, courts should not be inclined to pass an order granting maintenance on the ground that women are required to be maintained by men or wife is required to be maintained by her husband,” the court said.The court said that maintenance should only be awarded when the wife has no means to support herself at the same standard of living as her husband.The court further observed that the wife’s admitted income of Rs 1 lakh per month was higher than her husband’s salary and that she was capable of maintaining herself.“With her admitted income that is Rs 1,00,000 she can maintain herself. Therefore, there is no requirement for the trial court to order the husband to pay a sum of Rs 20,000 per month out of his earnings of Rs 60,646 per month. Hence, this court is of the view that the order under challenge is unsustainable in the eye of law,” the court added.The Karnataka high court clarified that its ruling is limited to the interim maintenance order under challenge and will have no bearing on the final outcome of the matrimonial proceedings. It also made clear that the wife remains free to seek maintenance in the future if there is a change in circumstances.
