Earning Spouse Has A Duty To Protect Life, Liberty & Dignity Of Other As Long As Marriage Survives: Allahabad High Court

The bench of Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Rajendra Kumar-IV observed thus while hearing an appeal filed by one Santosh Kumar challenging an order passed by the Family Court under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 providing for Rs. 7K per month as interim maintenance to his wife.

It was the contention of the Appellant/Husband that his salary is 16,500/- that too in the year 2023, earlier, that payment was about Rs. 15,470/- and hence, the court below was unreasonable in awarding the maintenance amount as stated above.

In view of this, considering that there are no children born from the marriage, the Court found that the court below has erred in awarding nearly 50% of the total monthly income of the appellant, towards interim maintenance.

At the same time, the Court added, certain minimum amounts have to be provided to ensure the protection of life, liberty and dignity of the opposite party who is the wife of the appellant involved in an estranged marriage situation.

Against this backdrop, the Court was of the view that the amount Rs. 5K per month towards interim maintenance to the wife from the date of her filing of application would be sufficient to protect the interest of justice. However, the Court did not interfere with the award of one-time legal expenses and daily personal expenses as awarded by the Court below.

Further, the Court also issued certain other directions regarding the timeline of payment of maintenance to the wife.

Lastly, the Court provided that the court below may ensure that the proceedings instituted by the appellant under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 are concluded as expeditiously as possible, preferably on or before 31 January 2024.

Case title - Santosh Kumar vs. Gayatri Devi 2023 LiveLaw (AB) 338 [FIRST APPEAL DEFECTIVE No. - 279 of 2023]

Case Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (AB) 338

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