Madras High Court cancels Rs 30000 monthly maintenance for wife, citing her substantial income, but upholds support for the couple’s minor son as per Justice P.B. Balaji’s ruling.
The Madras High Court has overturned a family court’s direction requiring a husband to pay ₹30,000 per month as interim maintenance to his wife, holding that she has adequate independent income, as reported by ET Wealth Online. However, the Court maintained the award of maintenance for the couple’s minor son.
The dispute originated in 2019 when the couple filed for divorce before the Fourth Additional Principal Family Court in Chennai. In 2021, the court directed the husband to cover the son’s school and coaching expenses. Subsequently, in 2023, it ordered him to pay ₹30,000 per month each to his wife and their son. While the husband complied with the child’s maintenance, he contested the allowance granted to his wife before the Madras High Court.
According to ET Wealth Online, Justice P.B. Balaji, who heard the case, observed that the wife is a practicing doctor and a director of a company. Company records revealed that she had received dividends amounting to ₹47 lakh over three financial years—₹15.18 lakh in FY22, ₹16.20 lakh in FY23, and ₹16.20 lakh in FY24. She also owns 0.31 acre (32 cents) of land valued at several crores. Though her counsel acknowledged these earnings, it was argued that the income had been utilized towards their son’s education.
Dismissing the plea, Justice Balaji observed that Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act allows interim maintenance only when a spouse lacks adequate financial resources, ET Wealth Online reported. “I do not find that the respondent is without sufficient income to justify the grant of additional maintenance,” he remarked.
Citing the Supreme Court’s decision in Rajnesh v. Neha (2021), the Court ruled that the wife’s earnings and assets disqualified her from seeking maintenance. However, the direction requiring the husband to pay ₹30,000 per month towards the son’s support, along with his educational expenses, was left undisturbed.