BENGALURU: Rejecting the contention of the father that he is not liable to any educational expenses of his daughter once disowning him after attaining adulthood, the Karnataka High Court upheld the order passed by a sessions court directing him to pay Rs 16 lakh to his unmarried daughter for pursuing MD in Dermatology at a college in Mangaluru.
Justice H P Sandesh passed the order dismissing the criminal revision petition filed by the father residing in Mangaluru challenging the order dated April 28, 2026, passed by a sessions court which confirmed the order dated February 3, 2026, passed by a magistrate court to pay a sum of Rs 16 lakh towards college fees for pursuing post-graduation of the daughter.
The court said that it has to note that the daughter was admitted to MBBS with the consent of both parents, and that the father was also part of her admission to MBBS. When such being the case, the revision petitioner-father now cannot say that he cannot pay the fee towards the post-graduation, and it is the obligation on the part of the father who is doing business transactions more than a crore and can avail a loan and clear the same from his business, the court added.
Both father and mother were residing together when the daughter was admitted to MBBS, but a matrimonial dispute arose between them while she was studying graduation.
The daughter filed an application before the magistrate for direction to her father to pay first college fee for post-graduation of Rs 16 lakh after she secured admission at a college through NEET at Mangaluru.
Considering the financial abilities of the father, the magistrate allowed the application filed under Section 20(d) of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and directed him to pay an amount of Rs 16 lakh. Therefore, this order was challenged by the father before the sessions court, which rejected the same. Hence, he moved the High Court.
Answering the question whether the unmarried major daughter can invoke Section 20 of the Act for monetary relief to pursue her post-graduation, the court said that it is very clear that Section 20 of the Act is for monetary relief in addition to the maintenance and the father has to meet the educational expenses of the daughter whether it is for under-graduation or post-graduation and it is the obligation on the part of the father to pay the maintenance.