Overview
- Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma held that unpaid household work enables the earning spouse and must be factored into maintenance decisions.
- The High Court set aside lower-court refusals of interim relief and granted the estranged wife Rs 50,000 under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act.
- It clarified that a spouse’s capacity to earn is distinct from actual earnings and cannot, by itself, be a basis to deny support.
- The case record showed no evidence of past or present employment for the wife, countering the husband’s claim that she had chosen to remain idle.
- The judgment noted that maintenance disputes often become intensely adversarial and urged mediation as a more constructive path for families.