According to The Live Law, Justice Manjusha Deshpande said "The wife needs to be granted maintenance from the income of the husband since her own income is insufficient for her maintenance. Merely because the wife is earning, she cannot be deprived support from her husband with the same standard of living to which she is accustomed to in her matrimonial home,"
Working Wife Deserves Husband's Support, Says High Court
The court emphasised that a wife is entitled to the same standard of living she was used to in her marriage, regardless of her own income.
This ruling came after a man appealed a family court order that directed him to pay his wife ₹15,000 every month. The man argued that his wife already earned over ₹25,000 a month and didn't need the money. He also claimed that he didn't earn much and had to look after his sick parents.
The wife, however, told the court that her husband actually earned more than ₹1 lakh per month.
Deshpande, who was hearing the case, disagreed with the man. The court noted that even though the wife was working, her salary was not enough for her to live a "decent life," especially since she had to travel a long distance for her job.
The court also found that the man's parents were not dependent on him, as his father received a monthly pension of ₹28,000. Whereas the woman was presently living with her parents and brother, but could not continue doing so indefinitely as it might cause inconvenience and hardship to all of them
"Merely because the wife is earning, she cannot be deprived of the support from her husband," the court stated, pointing out the huge difference in the incomes of the man and the woman.
The High Court dismissed the man's plea and upheld the family court's order for him to pay the ₹15,000 monthly maintenance.
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