According to the Court, Section 24 under the Hindu Marriage Act aims to make sure that neither of the partners experiences financial hardship throughout legal marital proceedings.
According to a latest ruling by the High Court of Delhi, when both spouses have the same credentials and make an equal amount of money, Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 does not permit the woman to receive interim maintenance.
According to a divisional panel comprising Justice Neena Bansal Krishna and Justice Suresh Kumar Kait, the purpose of Section 24 has been to make sure that neither party experiences being financially disabled during the matrimonial proceedings under the act because of insufficient source of income.
According to the court, interim support is meant to cover legal costs and guarantee a decent standard of living, rather than equal the income of the parties. The decision was reached as a result of cross appeals made by both spouses concerning the child maintenance amount.
As pointed out by this Court in the case of K.N. vs. R.G MAT. APP concluded on 12th February 2019, that the proceedings under Section 24 of the Act are not aimed for equalizing both spouses’ incomes or granting interim maintenance that is in accordance with maintaining an equivalent life style just like the other partner.
The wife had demanded a maintenance amount for herself of Rs. 2 lakh and an increase in the child’s maintenance from the initial amount of Rs. 40,000 to increasing the amount to Rs. 60,000 per month. The husband requested for a reduction in the total amount for maintenance. They tied the knot in the year 2014, and their child was born after their marriage in the year 2016. In the year 2020, the couple were lawfully separated.
The court noticed that both the wife and the husband had advanced degrees, and that her salary was Rs. 2.5 lakhs a month while he received US $ 7134 when it gets converted to Indian rupees, comes equal to the wife’s income.
After taking into account the income status of both the partners, and acknowledgement of the fact that the child is the responsibility of both the partners, the high court has decreased the child’s monthly maintenance amount from Rs 40,000 in the beginning down to Rs 25,000.
Written by: Divyani Newar,College name: NEF Law College,5th Semester, 3 Year LL.B. intern under Legal Vidhiya
References:
- https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/no-interim-pay-if-spouses-earnings-equal-clarifies-delhi-hc/articleshow/104512316.cms?from=mdr
- https://www.barandbench.com/news/wife-no-interim-maintenance-spouses-qualified-earning-equally-delhi-high-court
- https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/delhi-high-court/delhi-high-court-interim-maintenance-wife-section-24-hindu-marriage-act-240314?infinitescroll=1
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