Gurugram: Dismissing a woman’s plea for higher maintenance, the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed her to spend at least 10 percent of her existing monthly alimony on “improving her vocational skills.”
Justice Alok Jain observed in his judgment delivered 10 December that in matters of maintenance, the object is not merely subsistence but also to enable the claimant to live with dignity.
Therefore, he ruled, a part of the maintenance amount must be utilised for skills enhancement and self-development to promote financial independence and long-term self-reliance.
Not satisfied with a family court enhancing her maintenance from Rs 7,500 to Rs 15,000, one-third of her husband’s net salary, the woman had approached the High Court after
She wanted one-third of his gross salary of Rs 58,016, arguing that voluntary deductions like Provident Fund (PF) shouldn’t be considered while calculating maintenance.
However, the HC didn’t accept her argument.
In his judgment, Justice Jain observed that the petitioner failed to demonstrate any actual increase in her reasonable expenses or financial hardship. “The husband is also a human being and a citizen of this country, and is equally entitled to lead a dignified life,” the order read.
The family court, the HC noted, had passed the enhancement order in a “mechanical manner” without examining a single piece of evidence about the wife’s actual expenses. Just saying that “basic necessities have become expensive” and “it’s difficult to survive on Rs 7,500” wasn’t good enough, it added.
The judge then spoke about what he called a “peculiar trend of litigation” where wives file maintenance applications without demonstrating “any cogent or justifiable reason for residing separately” and pursue them aggressively.
While acknowledging that maintenance isn’t just about bare subsistence but about living with dignity, Justice Jain pivoted to self-reliance. “A part of the maintenance amount must be utilised for skills enhancement and self-development to promote financial independence and long-term self-reliance.”
To that end, the judge ruled that the petitioner must use at least 10 percent of her Rs 15,000 monthly maintenance—Rs 1,500—for “improving her vocational skills.”
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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