READ ORDER | Legal & Moral Obligation Of Unemployed Husband To Maintain Wife: Delhi Court

A Delhi Court has upheld an order awarding an amount of interim maintenance of Rs 5,133 per month to the wife, observing that mere fact that the husband is unemployed would not absolve him from his responsibility to maintain his wife.

Additional Sessions Judge Sanjay Sharma of Tis Hazari Courts observed that the husband cannot shirk his responsibility regarding interim maintenance towards the wife by pleading unemployment. The court said,

The fact that the appellant is unemployed would not absolve him from his responsibility to maintain the complainant. The appellant has requisite educational and professional qualification for earning. Termination of service does not mean that the appellant is incapable of finding another employment or work.

Case:

Couple got married in August 2013 and within 2-months, the wife had alleged that she was subjected to physical and mental cruelty for bringing insufficient dowry, followed by allegations and counter-allegations against each other. Finally, she left the shared household on October 7, 2013. The couple does not have any children and have been separated since past 8.5 years. 

Wife filed domestic violence charges in June 2015, demanding interim maintenance of Rs 20,000 per month. 

The husband had preferred a criminal appeal under Section 29 of the Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act, 2005 in a complaint case wherein the Mahila Court had directed him to pay interim maintenance to the respondent wife from the date of filing of petition till its final disposal.

Submissions by Wife

The case of the wife was that husband was earning more than Rs 50,000 per month and was living a luxurious life.

Ld. Counsel for the complainant contended that the appellant has not paid any amount to the complainant since the date of filing of the case on 29.06.2015. She contended that the allegations and counter-allegations made by the parties are not relevant at this stage. She contended that the complainant is a legally wedded of the appellant and she is entitled to seek maintenance as per status of the appellant.

Countered by Husband

On the other hand, the husband stated that he was employed with a studio, earning Rs 6,000 per month. He stated that he was unemployed and that he had no source of income. He further averred that he was bearing domestic expenses and looking after his old ailing father and that the wife was earning more than him from stitching work.

Tiz Hazari Court, Delhi

Perusing the impugned order, the Court said,

The complainant is wife of the appellant. It is trite to state that it is the moral and legal obligation of the appellant to maintain his wife and provide her same comforts commensurate to his status and standard of living.

The Court noted that the husband was a graduate and an experienced photographer which was also mentioned in the additional reply filed by him. The judge said,

The complainant (wife) has done 12th standard. She is not employed. She has no source of income. She has no movable or immovable property capable of generating any income. She is residing with her parents. She is dependent upon her parents.

A mere statement that the complainant is earning from stitching work in the absence of any credible material in this regard is inconsequential. She is entitled to seek maintenance from the appellant.

The Court also observed that the husband had requisite educational and professional qualification for earning and that termination of service does not mean that he was incapable of finding another employment or work. The court said,

The appellant is a graduate. He is able-bodied and experienced photographer. He is residing in ancestral home in a posh colony of Delhi. He is not suffering from any physical disability preventing him from doing any work. He cannot shrink his responsibility regarding interim maintenance towards the complainant by pleading unemployment since 02.09.2016.

Accordingly, dismissing the appeal, the Court upheld by noting that there was no reason to interfere with the impugned order and that there was no manifest error of law or procedure or perversity in the same.

MDO Take:

• Before India cries about patriarchy and patriarchal mindset, one must demand liberation of fully-abled women, permanently dependent on Men as their masters and sole providers
• Sarcasm aside, matrimonial laws in India are nothing but a life long trap for Men, even before a single charge against them or their families is proven
• A marriage lasts for only 2-months, wife walks out of matrimonial home and files several charges demanding Rs 20,000 per month
• There is 0 onus on wife’s parents to support her, but for a 2-month marriage, husband becomes the sole provider for life
• The cases that were filed by the woman in 2015, have still not been concluded even after 7-long years, and the counsel for the wife argues that the contents of the charges are not relevant at the stage of granting interim maintenance
• The term interim maintenance is a joke in India, as it has no defined timelines and a mere tool for fully abled women to sit idle for life, while they enjoy tax free income from Men, who they call legally wedded husbands
• The court is merciless in granting any relief to the man who claims to be without a job, but puts no onus whatsoever on the fully-abled wife to complete her education and build a career
• The couple does not have any children, but the wife is given all legal perks to do nothing, but play victim for life
• Even after 8.5 years of separation, the woman shows no inclination to work, but is educated enough to claim her ‘right to maintenance’ in court since nearly a decade
• Men in India must give up on marriage, until these regressive, archaic and ruthless laws do not change
• There is nothing for married Men in India, as it is only and only the Wife who decides the fate of the relationship and also the custody of children (if any) 

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