Recently, the Madras High Court overturned a family court’s order which had directed a wife to pay her husband interim maintenance of Rs. 20,000 while their divorce petition was pending.
The court found that the family judge had exaggerated a minor procedure and misplaced sympathy. The judge had cited the husband’s recent angioplasty and stent placement as reasons for his incapacity to work.
The appellants’ argument primarily focused on the husband’s failure to prove his incapacity to earn a livelihood, and therefore, objected to the court’s order of interim maintenance. They further argued that the husband’s claim of being wunable to work was solely based on having undergone an angioplasty, which, according to them, was not a major heart surgery that could render him incapable of working. They maintained that the husband could still carry out business and work to sustain himself.
The court found it necessary to examine the husband’s income tax returns for the previous years since the issue at hand pertained to maintenance payments. The wife had submitted these returns, which showed that the husband had an average income of six to eight lakh rupees in the previous years. Taking this into account, the court held that the Family Court’s order could not be upheld and proceeded to overturn it. Therefore, the wife’s appeal was allowed.
Source: https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/madras-high-court-family-court-order-set-aside-wife-to-pay-interim-maintenance-husband-not-incapacitated-223343?from-login=913157