Maintenance must be reasonable and commensurate with the standard of living, considering both parties' financial status.

JUDGMENT:

G. Satapathy, J.

1. The petitioner-husband by invoking the extra ordinary jurisdiction of this Court under Articles 226 & 227 of the Constitution of India has prayed to quash the order dated 07.11.2024 passed by the learned Judge Family Court, Bhubaneswar in IA No.74 of 2023 arising out of CP No. 289 of 2022 directing the petitioner-husband to pay a sum of Rs.75,000/- per month to the OP-wife in an application U/S. 36 of Special Marriage Act, 1954 (in short, “ the Act”).

2. The facts in precise are that the petitioner and the OP are admittedly the wife and husband, but due to dissension, the OP-wife has filed a petition before the learned Judge Family Court, Bhubaneswar in CP No. 289 of 2022 for a decree of divorce by dissolving their marriage which was solemnized on 23.12.2015 as per Hindu Rites followed by marriage on 24.12.2015 as per Sikh rites between them. Additionally, the OP-wife has claimed permanent alimony of Rs.2 crores from the petitioner-husband. In such Civil Proceeding, the OP-wife has filed an application U/s. 36 of the Act in IA No. 74 of 2023 for maintenance pendente lite and the learned Judge Family Court, Bhubaneswar by an order passed on 06.12.2023 had directed the petitioner-husband to pay a sum of Rs.30,000/- per month to the OP-wife towards her interim maintenance till disposal of the Civil Proceeding, but subsequently after evidence being tendered, the OPwife again filed a petition on 13.09.2024 seeking enhancement of interim maintenance in the Civil Proceeding and the learned Judge Family Court by the impugned order has enhanced the interim maintenance to Rs.75,000/- per month and directed the petitioner- husband to pay the aforesaid amount of Rs.75,000/- per month to the OP-wife w.e.f. 13.09.2024 till disposal of the Civil Proceeding. Being aggrieved, the petitioner-husband has approached this Court in this writ petition.

3. In the course of hearing, Mr. Surya Prasad Mishra, learned Senior Counsel who is being assisted by Mr.Ramesh Kumar Agarwal, learned counsel for the writ-petitioner has submitted that not only the OP-wife has not approached the Court with clean hands, but also has suppressed material facts before the Court concerned in securing an order enhancing the interim maintenance, however, the petitioner-husband is going on paying Rs.30,000/- per month to the OP-wife. Mr.Mishra, learned Senior Counsel has also submitted that the OP-wife is an Income Tax assessee and the Income Tax return filed by her for the assessment year 2022-23 reveals her net salary per annum at Rs.19,31,923/- and her income from other sources at Rs.1,34,054/- per annum then and, therefore, the total income of the OP-wife comes around Rs.31,47,490/- per annum, but the OP-wife having suppressed her income is not entitled to any pendente lite maintenance. It is also submitted by Mr.Mishra that the OP-wife is a high qualified lady having Master Degree in Industrial Relationship and Managing Human Resources from Warwick University, London 2010-12 and, therefore, the OP-wife having earning roughly around Rs.2,00,000/- per month is not entitled to any pendente lite maintenance, but the learned Judge Family Court ignoring all these facts has not only enhanced the pendente lite maintenance, but also directed the petitioner to pay Rs.75,000/- per month to the OP-wife by holding his income to be 7000 US Dollar. It is also argued that merely because the petitioner is earning income in US Dollar, he cannot be asked to pay the pendente lite maintenance by looking at his earning in Dollar since it is to be considered that the petitioner-husband also spends money in terms of US Dollar and, therefore, the sole criteria to award exorbitant maintenance in favour of the OP by merely looking at the earning of the petitioner in Dollar is wholly inappropriate and unacceptable. Further, Mr.Mishra while apprising the Court about posting of the Civil Proceeding to 16th July, 2025 for final disposal prays to allow the writ petition by se