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Denial of Maintenance Forcing Wife into Violates : Allahabad High Court
"
"
— with these words, the dismissed a husband's criminal revision challenging a Family Court order directing him to pay ₹20,000 per month to his estranged wife. Justice Achal Sachdev held that denying maintenance that forces a wife into offends the constitutional guarantee of life with dignity under of the .
A Marriage That Turned Sour
The couple married according to Hindu customs on , in Tughlaqpur village, Gautam Buddh Nagar. Within months, the wife — Smt. Sheetal alias Priyanka — alleged that her husband, Devansh alias Chhotu, and his family demanded additional dowry, including a Swift car and a 100-square-yard plot. She claimed continuous harassment, abuse, and physical assault. On , she was allegedly assaulted and confined; after police intervention on , she began living at her parental home, solely dependent on her aged father.
The wife filed a maintenance application under , claiming her husband — a software engineer earning approximately ₹70,000 per month — and his family generated around ₹2,00,000 monthly from various properties and businesses. Seeking ₹30,000 per month, she asserted she had no independent income.
What the Family Court Found
The Additional Principal Judge, framed five issues, concluding that: the applicant was the legally wedded wife; she had sufficient reason to live separately; she was unable to support herself; the husband was not maintaining her according to his status; and she was entitled to ₹20,000 per month from the date of filing the application, payable within three months, plus a continuing ₹20,000 monthly from the date of judgment.
A Duty Beyond the Law
Justice Sachdev emphasised that a husband's obligation to maintain his wife and minor child transcends mere statutory command.
"It is the moral duty and social responsibility of husband to maintain his wife and minor child,"
the Court observed.
"The right to maintenance is not a matter of charity, but a
flowing from marital point and parental duty.
and its denial would compel the wife to lead a life of
which the law cannot countenance."
The Constitutional Framework
The judgment rooted the maintenance provisions in constitutional ethos.
— part of the Directive Principles — mandate adequate means of livelihood and healthy development of children, which
and
operationalise.
, embodying the right to life and personal liberty,
"includes the
and denial of maintenance forcing the wife into
is a violation of this constitutional guarantee."
The Court placed the husband's responsibility within the
"constitutional conscience of the nation,"
noting that Articles 15(3), 21 and 39 require the obligation to be understood
"not merely as a statutory duty but as a facet of
."
Precedents Relied Upon
The High Court drew on two Supreme Court rulings. In
Bhuvan Mohan Singh v. Meena
(2015) 6 SCC 353, the Apex Court held that maintenance is a measure of meant to prevent and . In
Chaturbhuj v. Sitabai
(2008) 2 SCC 316, it observed that the object of maintenance is to ensure a wife is not left in
, and that maintenance is
"not conditional upon proof of neglect."
Key Observations
"The maintenance ensures that the wife is not compelled to lead a life of
for such deprivation would offend the dignity guaranteed under
."
"Her husband's support sustains the family unit, ensuring that the wife and children are not marginalized or forced into poverty."
"It is fundamental duty rooted in love, compassion and responsibility, and even beyond the law and custom, it is the matter of conscience to prevent suffering of those who are dependent on him."
The Verdict
Finding the Family Court's order
"very well reasoned and justified,"
the High Court dismissed the criminal revision on
, refusing to interfere with the maintenance award. The ruling reinforces that a husband's duty to maintain his wife is not merely contractual but grounded in
— and that a wife's right to dignity cannot be bartered away by procedural default or failure to press a revision. Notably, the revisionist's counsel was absent during hearings, and the Court proceeded with the matter given the husband's failure to pay maintenance despite the trial court's direction.
The decision provides clarity for family courts and litigants alike: where a wife has no independent income and a husband has sufficient means, maintenance is a statutory and constitutional imperative — not a discretionary charity.
