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PRAYAGRAJ: A wife cannot be denied maintenance under Section 125 of CrPC merely because she is highly qualified or possesses vocational skills, Allahabad HC has ruled, setting aside a Bulandshahr family court’s order. In its Jan 8 order, a bench of Justice Garima Prashad said it was misplaced for a husband to rely solely on his wife’s qualifications to evade his legal obligation to maintain her. The bench observed that a wife’s statutory right to maintenance cannot be infringed by claiming she has the capacity to earn, noting that mere potential to earn is distinct from actual gainful employment. The court said it is difficult for a woman to rejoin the workforce after years of domestic and childcare duties. The hard reality is that women are expected to fulfill these obligations, often at the cost of their education or career. But when marital discord arises, the very “sacrifice” is often portrayed as a ploy to extract money from the husband, HC said.“Such sweeping assumptions are not only unfair, but deeply insensitive to the social and emotional realities that women face,” HC added. The high court remanded the matter to the family court, directing it to determine maintenance for the petitioner wife and son on the basis of the husband’s gross income and the principles of social justice embedded in Section 125 CrPC, within a month. The additional principal judge of Bulandshahr court had rejected the wife’s application on the grounds that she concealed her professional education, was living separately without sufficient cause, and refused to return to her matrimonial home despite proceedings under Section 9 of Hindu Marriage Act.
