"Qualified, Capable" To Earn: Court Rejects Wife's Demand For Maintenance

"The complainant (wife) is highly qualified and capable of finding a source of income for herself and allowing maintenance will only promote idleness and dependency on the husband. Therefore, I am not inclined to grant any maintenance in view of her capacity to earn," the magistrate said.

A court in Delhi rejected a wife's application for interim monetary relief under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, saying she was highly qualified and capable of finding a source of income and allowing her maintenance would promote idleness and dependency on the husband.

Metropolitan Magistrate Swayam Siddha Tripathy was hearing an application filed by the wife under the act seeking interim maintenance of Rs 50,000 per month.

"The complainant (wife) is highly qualified and capable of finding a source of income for herself and allowing maintenance will only promote idleness and dependency on the husband. Therefore, I am not inclined to grant any maintenance in view of her capacity to earn," the magistrate said.

Underlining that the wife's right to receive maintenance from the husband was not "absolute", the court said the wife had to show her inability to sustain, survive, and manage even the basic necessities, besides establishing that the husband was earning and having a better lifestyle, while the wife was left fending for herself.