Now Reading: Gurgaon court rejects husband’s income dip, orders Rs 2 lakh monthly maintenance
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Gurgaon court rejects husband’s income dip, orders Rs 2 lakh monthly maintenance
Gurgaon court rejects husband’s income dip, orders Rs 2 lakh monthly maintenance
A family court in Gurgaon has ordered a senior executive at Deloitte to pay Rs 2 lakh per month as maintenance to his estranged wife, rejecting his claim that a sharp decline…
A family court in Gurgaon has ordered a senior executive at Deloitte to pay Rs 2 lakh per month as maintenance to his estranged wife, rejecting his claim that a sharp decline in his annual income made it unaffordable. The husband's income tax return for assessment year 2025-26 showed taxable income of around Rs 1 crore, down from about Rs 2 crore in 2023-24 and Rs 2.9 crore in 2024-25.
The court found the explanation for the fall unsatisfactory since the husband remained in the same job and senior position. Additional Principal Judge Poonam Kanwar said paying for the children's boarding school fees, around Rs 19.2 lakh a year, did not cover all financial obligations, and the wife's maintenance had to be assessed separately. The wife had sought Rs 4 lakh monthly for herself and the children, plus Rs 7.5 lakh in litigation expenses.
The court also rejected arguments that the wife, who is highly educated, could earn on her own, and that allegations of undisclosed assets or foreign travel could be used to deny maintenance at the interim stage without evidence.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Interim maintenance orders are meant to ensure a dependent spouse does not run out of funds while the main case drags on, often for years. Family courts have wide discretion at this stage: they can look at past earning capacity rather than the latest tax return if the drop appears engineered. The husband had claimed home loan liabilities of Rs 1.7 crore and duties towards his parents, but courts in similar cases, including a 2024 Delhi High Court ruling on a Rs 25,000 monthly order against a man earning Rs 11,000, have held that a spouse's basic needs are not subordinate to loan repayments or parental obligations. What remains to be tested is whether this Gurgaon order is challenged in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, and whether the appellate bench applies the same principle or demands fuller evidence on the wife's alleged assets.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
