No Presumption of Wife's Earning Capacity at Interim Maintenance

Source: Delhi High Court 

Why in News? 

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi High Court in the case of X v. Y (2025) ruled that a wife cannot be presumed to be earning or being capable of maintaining herself while considering grant of interim maintenance, emphasizing the need for documentary evidence rather than mere allegations by the husband. 

What was the Background of X v. Y (2025) Case? 

• The case involved a wife's challenge to a family court order that had awarded her only Rs. 2,500 as interim maintenance from her husband. 
• The couple was married in 2021 according to Muslim rites and ceremonies, with no children born from the marriage. 
• The wife claimed she was a housewife with no movable or immovable property, no independent source of income, and had studied only up to the 11th standard. 
• She asserted she was wholly dependent upon her parental family for sustenance after leaving the matrimonial home. 
• The wife contended that her husband was a graduate working as a teacher in a private school, earning approximately Rs. 25,000 per month. 
• She argued that the Family Court failed to properly assess the husband's income based on his educational qualifications and minimum wages, particularly given the absence of credible documentary proof of his alleged income. 
• The husband countered that the wife had voluntarily left the matrimonial home as she was not inclined to live with him. 
• He alleged that the wife was working as a nursery teacher earning Rs. 10,000 per month and was capable of maintaining herself. 
• The husband claimed his own income was only Rs. 10,000 per month from working as a teacher with an NGO. 

What were the Court's Observations? 

• The Court noted at the outset that it was undisputed that the wife had studied only up to the 11th standard. 
• Justice Sharma observed that while the husband alleged the wife was working as a nursery teacher and earning, no documentary proof was placed on record to substantiate this claim. 
• The Court emphasized that "Mere bald assertion that the wife is working and earning, without any proof to even prima facie supports this claim, cannot be of any help to the respondent-husband at this stage." 
• The Court held that for purposes of granting interim maintenance, the wife cannot be presumed to be earning or being capable of maintaining herself without credible evidence. 
• The judge further noted that the husband's claimed income of Rs. 10,000 per month was even lower than the minimum wages payable to a skilled person, despite him admittedly being a graduate. 
• The Court concluded that the husband's income must be assessed on the basis of minimum wages rather than his self-declared lower income. 
• To serve the interests of justice, the Court enhanced the interim maintenance payable to the wife from Rs. 2,500 per month to Rs. 3,500 per month. 
• The enhanced maintenance was ordered to be paid from the date of filing of the application under Section 125 of the CrPC (Section 144 of BNSS), subject to adjustment of any amount already paid. 

Interim Maintenance 

• Interim maintenance refers to temporary financial support granted to a spouse during the pendency of matrimonial proceedings. 
• The purpose of interim maintenance is to ensure that the dependent spouse is not left without means of sustenance during the litigation process. 
• The provision is applicable irrespective of the personal law governing the parties, making it a secular provision for maintenance. 

What is Section 144 of BNSS? 

About: 

• Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) is a social justice provision aimed at preventing destitution and financial hardship of a neglected spouse and children. It empowers a Magistrate of the First Class to grant monthly maintenance, interim maintenance, and proceeding expenses to the wife, legitimate or illegitimate child, who is unable to maintain themselves, from a person who has sufficient means but refuses or neglects to do so. 
• Key statutory features include: 
  • Section 144(1): Empowers the Magistrate to order monthly maintenance to wife and children. 
  • Second Proviso to Section 144(1): Allows the Magistrate to grant interim maintenance and expenses during the pendency of proceedings. 
  • Third Proviso to Section 144(1): Directs that interim maintenance applications should ideally be disposed of within 60 days from the date of service of notice. 
  • Section 144(2): Maintenance may be payable either from the date of application or order, as the Magistrate deems fit. 
  • Section 144(3): Non-payment of maintenance can attract warrant proceedings and imprisonment up to one month. 
  • Section 144(4): Disqualifies the wife from receiving maintenance in cases of adultery, refusal to live with husband without sufficient cause, or mutual consent to live separately. 
  • Further procedural clarity is offered under Section 145(2), which mandates that evidence must be recorded in the presence of the respondent or their advocate, with a provision for ex parte proceedings and setting aside such orders upon showing sufficient cause within three months.