Family Court, Mumbai: Looking at the burden on the husband to provide maintenance to his wife even in cases where the wife is well educated and capable enough to earn for her living, a bench of S.A. Morey J gave a landmark judgment in favour of husband to curb the misuse of the provision of maintenance, and held that a wife who is well qualified and is capable to earn cannot sit idle and claim maintenance from her husband.

In the instant case, petitioner-wife moved an application before this Court for grant of maintenance from the respondent-husband during the pendency of petition under Section 125 CrPC. The petitioner alleged that she was forced to live separately as the respondent and his family members ill-treated and harassed her for bringing less dowry. The petitioner contended that the respondent is a successful businessman and is doing business not only in India but also in Dubai and other countries, and that his total income per month is more than Rs. 15 lakhs, and therefore considering the status of her husband, she prayed for grant of maintenance @ Rs. 2 lakhs per month.

Firstly, the Court rejected the contention of the respondent that the petitioner is not entitled to get maintenance as she is not legally wedded wife and that marriage between them was dissolved by way of talaq, and held that Section 125 CrPC itself has given definition of ‘wife’ which includes divorcee wife and makes clear that a Muslim woman who is either divorcee or who obtained divorce is entitled to get maintenance till her remarriage, and therefore respondent’s contention does not affect the right of the petitioner to claim maintenance. Secondly, the Court observed that the petitioner is well qualified, has completed degree in Food and Science Nutrician, is Post Graduate in Dietician field, had worked as a dietician with an income of Rs. 50000 per month, and has experience of working with reputed companies like Larsen and Toubro etc but at present she is not working.

The Court relied on Mamta Jaiswal v. Rajesh Jaiswal, 2000 (3) MPLJ 100, where it was held that “well qualified wife is not entitled to remain as an idle and claim maintenance from her husband”. The Court noted that the facts of the present case clearly shows that the petitioner is having good capacity to earn and therefore held that “the wife who is well qualified and claiming maintenance by sitting idle is not entitled to get maintenance”. Accordingly, the Court rejected the application filed by the petitioner. Firdos Mohd. Shoeb Khan v. Mohd. Shoeb Mohd. Salim Khan, decided on 20.02.2015]

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26 comments

• lucky Aug 30, 2016

  Respected sirs,
  pls share the safeguard husband should take while wife always giving the suicide threats to husband and his family to fulfill her illogical demands.
  Does filling the NC in local police station is enough if in any case wife commits suicide and if we have filed NC.. How would it safeguard us? I mean police won’t arrest us immediately until investigation or they will never consider us as responsible for their death?

  Reply
• AJITH.K Aug 14, 2016

  Please give me the judgement no with date above mentioned article

  Reply
  • Editor Aug 16, 2016

    You can read the judgment by clicking on the link generated on the Party name.

    Reply
• Rajinder Aug 1, 2016

  Is there any similar kind of judgments of any high court /supreme court. If,yes please help me out with the citations on my above e mail I d.
  Thanks
  reply

  Reply
• C.VIJAYA KUMAR May 26, 2016

  Reducing stress to the husband, today’s most matrimonial dispute both are well and equally qualified. When the wife is qualified education, the wife May get job and earn at the level of domestic livelihood level

  Reply
• dr g balakrishnan PhD ML Nov 7, 2015

  some how i do not agree to the view of the tribunal, when sec 125 of cr. p c has no such specific requirement. i think one cannot over read in between when courts have not read so deeply the constitutional fundamental rights articles.

  i think any one could become incapacitated for any reason over which no one except God could help.

  Reply
• Arindam Datta Mar 26, 2015

  What will be the yardstick to determine whether the wife is "well-qualified" or has the "capacity to earn". There are many women who, inspite of being graduates or a post-graduate degree holder, remain as housewife. Unless the law is definite and certain, it may lead to conflicting decisions by different Courts. It is high time that the Legislature should interfere in the matter and lay down definite standards in this regard.

  Reply
  • dr g balakrishnan PhD ML Nov 7, 2015

    what is the right yard stick is also my question too?

    so i think tribunal judgement dependent on madhya pradesh court judgement need to be judicially reviewed is my view

    Reply
• Anil Mar 12, 2015

  Dear my real story,

  My marriage was arranged marriage & done on Feb 09, 2007 without any dowry & also in a simple manner. The role of middle person played by her Mosa2 & Massi. After marriage on first night, my wife say me that she was pressurised by her parents for this marriage. Me & my parents give her respect & lot of love & take care of her. But she never accept me as her husbands & never respect my aged parents. She never perform her Conj Rights. On Mar 24, 2007 her Brother & Mosa3 came to our place without prior information & take her with all the Valuable's giving reason that her father was ill. After some days we call her for return back to matrimonial home. But her mother was giving Mis reason that her father was ill, then again Reservation is not available etc ect. On month of June I had received notice from family court U/s 125 CRPC & then 13A within 44 days of marriage under the false allegations that she never prove because, nothing was happen with her. The Hon'be judge has passed interim maintenance in favour of her without any evidence. When she is deserted me & more qualified than me. From 8 years the case is pending in District family Court & she earn interim maintenance from me that I pay her from my fathers pension, when I am jobless & attend regular court dates. I had also filed revision but the court stands family court order. She had using tact's to delay the case on unwanted applications & not completed the case proceedings to harass me for illegal money, How she misuses the women's law under the provision of HMA. I had received only Tareek pe Tareek. (Hat's of to Hon'ble judge of MHC who had rejected maintenance to a wife on actual facts.)but what happen to 99% cases that was lying in the family courts?

  Reply
  • dr g balakrishnan PhD ML Nov 7, 2015

    i have sympathy for you.

    see when she was more qualified than you, naturally she might have not liked the alliance, you also need to know how a woman more qualified than you could live with you.

    secondly sec 125 of cr. p. c talks on your income only.

    if you do not have any income court cannot ask your father to pay from his pension.

    so there is some wrong some where.

    you go to court with evidence that you do not any income to meet sec 125 order pronounced earlier and request the court to quash the earlier order, it would, my view. friend

    Reply
• Anil Mar 11, 2015

  Know these days it becomes a very easy job for mischievous wives go to court & file false petitions on filmy grounds like dowry, cruelty, mental cruelty, fake FIR to implicate her husband & his family members to harass them for illegal money. The maintenance is the cause of misuse of all acts included HMA. Wives has earn interim maintenance without any evidence for years & years & the husbands are harassed for years & years & get only Tareek pe Tareek harassed till… on the name of LAW. Husbands are deliberatively harassed in the courts & in the name of LAW, that is the main reason for misuse of Maintenance Laws in India. I am very surprised that why LD of GOI is not know about the misuse of these LAWs.Is this is not a terrisom against husbands in india.

  Reply
  • dr g balakrishnan PhD ML Nov 7, 2015

    Law can never be wrong. Probability of misuse is high. that means people fight their issues in a wrong way perhaps. why Dowry still continue, after it is outlawed.

    Therefore, my gut feel is governments do not want to really find real meaningful solution against dowry.

    my feeling is courts need to review the dowry laws.

    if there is a dowry taken by husbands’ family, naturally he cannot come to the court with unclean hands as in writs, i believe.

    Reply
• Vatsal Kansara Mar 10, 2015

  Is there any similar kind of judgment of any High Court / Supreme Court.
  If, yes please help me out with the citation on my above email id.
  Thanx!

  Reply
  • dr g balakrishnan PhD ML Nov 7, 2015

    if there are judgements that could be duly countered by right petitioning, after all no judgent is sacrosanct if it is wrongly arrived at that way advocacy surfaced.

    Reply
• Legal Editor Mar 10, 2015

  Dear Sanyogita,
  Please refer the link generated on the name of the case. It will direct you to the judgment.

  Reply
• Sanyogita Singh Mar 9, 2015

  Can anyone please give me the citation to this case?

  Reply
  • dr g balakrishnan PhD ML Nov 7, 2015

    legal editor gave you a citation by asking you to go to a link, try if it is really useful

    even if there so some link if you have a right case you can fight out the judgement too provided you could rightly question a legality that is what we call the question of law involved.

    Reply
• Aruna Mishra Feb 27, 2015

  It's a good news for the society

  Reply
• deepti Feb 27, 2015

  If wife is well qualified and after marriage husband did not allowed her to work n she has degree but no work experience and they got separated at her 30tes and its difficult to get job at 30tes and she don't have any work experience . At that case wil she get maintenance. ?

  Reply
  • dr g balakrishnan PhD ML Nov 7, 2015

    it all depends on the question of solid facts like you brought out.

    law is not blind, but justice might be you need to light a candle in the darkness, that way came the hearings mechanics and advocacy.

    Reply
• deepti Feb 27, 2015

  If wife is well qualified and after marriage husband did not allowed her to work n she has degree but no work experience and they got separated at her 30tes and its difficult to get job at 30tes and she don't have any work experience . At that case wil she get maintenance. ?

  Reply
• Elvis Kipkoech Feb 25, 2015

  Another on in credit of Indian court.Source of this ruling should adpoted be world-over to stop harassment of divorced husbands and instil hardwork among women

  Reply
  • dr g balakrishnan PhD ML Nov 7, 2015

    i agree . judgements are always based on hard facts and the right application of right sections of law pls.

    so there are courts sit first on hearings, to go deeper into real hard facts like fact finding forum then it has to apply what sections are quoted under which complainant moved the matter,

    if you quote wrong sections naturally that would be fatal to your own case,

    courts do not go out of the sections you quoted that way mostly prosecution cases fail miserably.

    therefore, several times police cases fail in the forum of law pls.

    Reply
• p p muley Feb 25, 2015

  No comments on any judgement

  Reply
• Rakesh mahajan Feb 25, 2015

  This could reduce the stress on husband.but how could we stressless even now wife harrashing with the same matter.I stressed and going in depretion
  Please suggest me imediately to avoid mishappening.

  uggest me imediately to avoid mid

  Reply
  • dr g balakrishnan PhD ML Nov 7, 2015

    first ensure whether your case is rightly drafted, go for second opinion. else being depressed cannot help you. Anything any one contemplates, one need to be reasonably prudent and it is better be doubly sure what you say.

    else no court could help

    Reply

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