Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Indian High Courts Tighten Maintenance Law, Reject Common Defenses

Courts across states now focus on ability to pay over technical objections to Section 125 claims.

Overview

  • Expanding the week’s run of rulings, the Himachal Pradesh High Court upheld residence and maintenance for a wife under the Domestic Violence Act, saying a husband living with another woman remains duty‑bound to provide for her.
  • The Delhi High Court affirmed maintenance for a woman from her second marriage despite no formal divorce from her first, stressing a liberal reading of “wife” under Section 125 to prevent destitution.
  • The Gujarat High Court ruled that loan EMIs do not cut a father’s duty to support his children and enhanced payments for triplets, directing proportional sharing of his income among dependents.
  • The Karnataka High Court held that a long delay in seeking support does not waive a woman’s statutory right to maintenance and ordered a BHEL employee to pay his wife Rs 15,000 per month.
  • Strengthening enforcement, the Punjab & Haryana High Court upheld Rs 30,000 interim maintenance for an elderly mother and ordered salary deductions and auto‑debit to ensure timely payment.