# Delhi HC: Father cannot use daughter’s PPF money to pay maintenance 2026-08-08T07:57:11+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Delhi High Court has ruled that a father cannot withdraw money from his daughter's Public Provident Fund (PPF) account to meet his maintenance obligations to her and his estranged wife. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna held on August 3 that the daughter, Shamli Kawatra, is entitled to the entire corpus of over Rs 8 lakh that her father Sudhir Kawatra had withdrawn in 2016. Sudhir Kawatra had opened the PPF account in 1999 for his daughter. He closed the account a year before maturity, claiming the money went towards maintenance. The court said a parent holds such investments only as a guardian, and the money cannot offset the independent legal duty of maintenance. The High Court upheld the district court order directing the father to repay the full amount with 8 per cent interest. ## Coverage - barandbench.com - livemint.com Tags: child maintenance, Delhi High Court, family law, guardianship, PPF account, property rights Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/delhi-hc-father-cant-use-daughters-ppf-money-for-maintenance/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/delhi-hc-father-cant-use-daughters-ppf-money-for-maintenance/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.