Now Reading: Supreme Court: Mother’s income no ground to cut father’s child maintenance
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Supreme Court: Mother’s income no ground to cut father’s child maintenance
Supreme Court: Mother’s income no ground to cut father’s child maintenance
The Supreme Court has ruled that a mother's financial independence does not automatically reduce a father's maintenance obligation towards their children. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta restored an…
The Supreme Court has ruled that a mother's financial independence does not automatically reduce a father's maintenance obligation towards their children. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta restored an interim maintenance award of Rs 60,000 per month for two minor daughters, rejecting the Allahabad High Court's decision to halve it to Rs 30,000 based on the mother's monthly earnings of Rs 1.5 lakh.
The Court observed that the obligation to maintain children is shared by both parents but cannot be divided through simple arithmetic. It noted that the mother, a gynaecologist, cares for the daughters aged nine and eight while working, and such caregiving is a real contribution that cannot be measured in money. The father, also a doctor, claims to earn Rs 2 lakh per month, and the Court said Rs 60,000 for two school-going daughters is not excessive given his position.
The apex court set aside the High Court's order and restored the family court's award of Rs 30,000 per daughter per month. The husband has been directed to pay any arrears to the wife within three months.
Indian Opinion Analysis
This ruling reinforces the principle that a non-custodial parent's maintenance duty is independent of the custodial parent's income. The Court explicitly rejected a mechanical 50-50 split, valuing unpaid care work by the custodial parent as a real contribution. This aligns with earlier judgments like the 2022 Rajnesh v. Neha guidelines, which rejected automatic set-off of incomes. The practical impact: family courts across states must now assess maintenance based on the child's needs and parents' social status, not merely their respective earnings. Watch for whether this tightens the scope for High Courts to reduce maintenance on appeal.
Source: barandbench.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
