Husband's Foreign Income Can't Be Mechanically Converted Into Indian Currency For Maintenance To Wife: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has recently observed that a husband's foreign income cannot be mechanically converted into Indian currency for granting maintenance to wife.“Mere earning in foreign currency does not, by itself, entitle the wife to claim maintenance by mechanically converting the husband's foreign income into Indian currency and applying the formulae evolved by Indian courts without due regard to the attendant circumstances,” Justice Amit Mahajan said. The Court was dealing with cross petitions filed by a couple challenging a family court order awarding interim maintenance of Rs. 50,000 per month to be paid by the husband to the wife. It was the wife's case that the husband was working as Software Engineer with Amazon, and was earning $150300 per annum and that his current salary was $232000, which meant that he was earning Rs. 14,61,000 per month.She contended that she had no source of income and was not gainfully employed, since she left her job around December 2021. She said that the husband did not have any other dependants apart from her. On the other hand, the husband contended that the Wife was a highly qualified lady, was employed with Bank of America and was drawing income of Rs. 9,00,000. He said that the wife had deliberately left her job and had chosen to remain unemployed.Disposing of the plea, the Court said that the interim maintenance of Rs. 50,000 per month awarded by the Family Court was not commensurate with the Husband's earning capacity or the status of the parties. Observing that determination of interim maintenance is not an exercise capable of mathematical precision, the Court said:“More often than not, particularly in cases where one of the spouses is employed abroad and has failed to place complete and candid disclosure of income before the Court, the assessment necessarily involves a degree of estimation and informed guesswork.”It added that the Court is not expected to embark upon a roving or final inquiry at the interim stage, and is rather is required to arrive at a reasonable figure on the basis of available material, surrounding circumstances, lifestyle indicators and the admitted earning capacity of the earning spouse.The Court said further that while it is the sacrosanct duty of a husband to maintain his wife, such obligation cannot be construed to mean that the entirety of his income is liable to be equalised or proportionately mirrored in the amount of maintenance to wife. The judge enhanced the interim maintenance amount to the wife from Rs. 50,000 per month to Rs. 1,00,000 per month, based on a broad, reasonable, and rounded-off assessment. The Court said that the enhanced interim maintenance shall be payable from the date of filing of the application for interim maintenance, subject to adjustment of any amount already paid. Title: X v. YCitation: 2026 LiveLaw (Del) 12Click here to read order

Husband's Foreign Income Can't Be Mechanically Converted Into Indian Currency For Maintenance To Wife: Delhi High Court

Nupur Thapliyal

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