Muslim Marriage | Maintaining Second Wife Not Ground To Deny Maintenance To First Legally Wedded Wife: Allahabad High Court

While dealing with maintenance dispute arising in a Muslim marriage, the Allahabad High Court has held that a husband maintaining second wife cannot be a ground to deny maintenance to the lawfully wedded first wife who is wholly dependent on her parents for financial support.

Briefly put, husband approached the High Court against a Family Court order awarding Rs. 20,000 monthly maintenance to his first wife on grounds that he was earning merely Rs. 83,000 per annum and the award was exorbitant.

Counsel for the first wife argued that the revisionist was a proprietor of a business along with his father with valid GST registration and had also had a second marriage. It was argued that she was unemployed and completely dependent on her parents for source of living. Accordingly, it was argued that the award by the Family Court was not exorbitant or arbitrary.

Noting that the revisionist was indeed running his father's business and was duly registered with the GST Department, Justice Harvir Singh held,

“The revisionist is, therefore, financially capable of maintaining the second wife. Such capacity, however, cannot be a ground to ignore the claim of the first wife, who is living separately and is wholly dependent upon her parents for financial support. In view of the law laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Court in Shamima Farooqui v. Shahid Khan, reported in AIR 2015 SC 2025, the obligation to maintain the legally wedded wife cannot be defeated merely on such considerations.”

Accordingly, the revision filed by the husband was dismissed.

Case Title: Modh. Asif v. State of U.P. and Another [CRIMINAL REVISION No. - 5182 of 2025]

Counsel for Revisionist: Sanjay Singh

Counsel for Respondent: G.A., Saquib Mukhtar, Yawar Mukhtar

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