NEW DELHI: A woman cannot be denied maintenance merely because she is qualified and was once employed, if her decision to quit work was driven by the demands of caring for a child, the Delhi High Court has ruled.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, while hearing a plea from a man challenging an interim maintenance order in favour of his estranged wife, held that a mother’s decision to leave employment cannot be treated as a “voluntary abandonment of work” when it is rooted in her duty as a single caregiver.
The husband, a practising advocate, had approached the HC seeking a revision of the family court’s direction to pay interim maintenance to his wife. He argued that his wife was highly educated and had previously earned Rs 40,000 to Rs 45,000 per month by working as a teacher and taking tuition classes.
In response, the wife told the court she was unable to work as she was solely responsible for their minor son’s upbringing. As a single parent without family support, she found it impossible to continue her career while taking care of the child.
The court observed that although the wife had previously worked as a guest teacher, her exit from employment was not wilful but driven by “compelling responsibilities” of raising the child on her own and the “considerable distance” of her workplace.
Agreeing with the reasoning of the family court, the HC said that while the woman was working, she was not entitled to maintenance. However, for the period after she gave up her job, she was rightly granted interim maintenance. The HC also pointed out that the family court had not examined the husband’s income affidavit or bank statements. It remanded the issue back to the family court with a direction to reconsider the wife’s application for interim maintenance afresh.
Till the reconsideration is complete, the husband has been directed to continue paying the maintenance as per the earlier order.