Now Reading: Delhi HC cuts wife’s maintenance to Rs 25,000 monthly
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Delhi HC cuts wife’s maintenance to Rs 25,000 monthly
The Delhi High Court reduced a wife’s interim maintenance from Rs 30,000 to Rs 25,000 a month in a matrimonial dispute involving Ashutosh Rai Asthana and Yamita Rai Asthana. The revised amount…
The Story in Brief
The Delhi High Court reduced a wife’s interim maintenance from Rs 30,000 to Rs 25,000 a month in a matrimonial dispute involving Ashutosh Rai Asthana and Yamita Rai Asthana. The revised amount applies retrospectively from 12 April 2021, when she filed her maintenance application.
The court noted that the couple’s two children live with their father, who pays their expenses, including their elder daughter’s MBBS fees. It also considered the wife’s MBA qualification, rental income of Rs 10,450 a month, fixed-deposit interest of about Rs 4,400 and use of a three-bedroom property owned by her husband. LiveMint, citing Raw Law, reported that the husband’s annual income exceeded Rs 63 lakh. The court said maintenance must balance need, income and liabilities.
The Indian Opinion
The lazy narrative that a husband’s high income automatically fixes maintenance ignores the court’s broader test. The opposite claim, that a qualified wife must always support herself, is equally simplistic. Here, accommodation, modest independent income and the father’s direct responsibility for two children all mattered. The practical test is whether the revised Rs 25,000 fairly reflects both households’ actual expenses and liabilities.
Sources (2): livemint.com, economictimes.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
