Maintenance to estranged wife 'cannot go beyond husband's means': Delhi court

A person cannot be ordered to pay maintenance beyond his means even if the amount awarded to his estranged wife is insufficient to meet her basic needs, a Delhi court said on Wednesday, as it stressed that maintenance has to be assessed in context of the paying spouse's actual or presumed income.

The estranged wife claimed that the man owned a medical store and earned rental income from agricultural and commercial properties. However, no documents were produced to substantiate these claims. (Photo for representation) (Unsplash)The court made the observation while dismissing an appeal by a woman challenging an interim maintenance of ₹1,840 per month awarded by a magistrate under the Domestic Violence Act, news agency PTI reported.

The observation was made by Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh while hearing the plea said the contention that the amount was too meagre to enable the woman to survive in Delhi could not be disputed. “The court has to keep in mind that the appellant could only be awarded maintenance of income which the respondent no 2 (husband) was having or could be presumed to have,” the court reportedly said in an order dated September 1, 2026.

The estranged wife claimed that the man owned a medical store and earned rental income from agricultural and commercial properties. However, no documents were produced to substantiate these claims due to which the court noted that there was no evidence to establish the monthly income of the man.

"At the same time, the court has to keep in mind that the appellant could only be awarded maintenance of income which the respondent no 2 was having or could be presumed to have," the judge was quoted as saying. The magistrate court had consequently assessed his income on the basis of minimum wages applicable in Uttar Pradesh, where he was residing.

According to the order cited in the report, the minimum wage for an unskilled worker at the relevant time was around ₹11,021 per month. The trial court followed the principles laid down by the Delhi High Court in Annurita Vohra v Sandeep Vohra case and divided the income among the family members for determining maintenance.

Laying the credentials for her case, the woman reportedly said that she was illiterate with no source of income and that her family had spent over ₹10 lakh on her marriage and provided household articles and jewellery. She said that her husband could pay ₹15,000- ₹20,000 per month.

However, the man claimed that he worked as a helper/salesman at a medical store and earned only ₹8,000 per month. He also said he had to support himself and the couple's three children. The sessions court observed that the husband belonged to the "poor strata of society" and therefore could not be directed to pay beyond his means, "even though the amount awarded is insufficient".

"The respondent no 2 (husband) belongs to poor strata of society. That being the case, he cannot be ordered to pay beyond his means even though the amount awarded is insufficient. Thus, I do not find any fault in the maintenance awarded to the appellant, the court noted.

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