The Allahabad High Court said that a person who cannot support a family should rethink the decision to marry. The court made it clear that once a man gets married, he cannot avoid his responsibility of maintaining his wife and children by citing poor financial condition. It termed this responsibility a legal obligation.
Court rejects husband’s appeal
The remarks came during a hearing in a matrimonial dispute over maintenance. A division bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Vivek Saran dismissed the appeal filed by Tej Bahadur Maurya. Maurya had challenged a family court order directing him to pay interim maintenance to his wife during the ongoing dispute.
What the family court had ordered
Earlier, the family court had asked the husband to pay Rs 4,000 per month to his wife as interim maintenance. Challenging this, Maurya argued that his financial condition was weak and was not properly considered.
He also alleged that his wife was living with another person, but the court noted that no solid evidence was provided to support this claim. During the hearing, the wife told the court that she is not highly educated, has no stable source of income, and is taking care of the children on her own.
Taking these factors into account, the court said that Rs 4,000 per month is neither excessive nor beyond the husband’s capacity. The court stressed that marriage brings clear responsibilities. It said a husband cannot step back from supporting his family after marriage, regardless of financial challenges.
The bench also noted that the wife is free to seek separate maintenance for the children if needed. Finding no error in the family court’s order, the High Court dismissed the appeal and directed that the maintenance payment must continue.
