BENGALURU: If a man’s monthly income is Rs 7 lakh, maintenance of Rs 60,000 for his homemaker-wife suffering from mental ailments cannot be considered high, the Karnataka HC has observed in a recent judgment.
Dismissing a petition by the Bengaluru-based husband to halve the amount, Justice M Nagaprasanna declined to accept his contention that his wife is not capable of using such a huge amount due to her mental condition and that it might be misused by others.
“If the husband is aware his wife is mentally unsound and needs treatment for her depression, it is his duty to pay maintenance. It is not a case where the husband is not in a position to pay. He lives a life of luxury,” the judge said.
The couple got married in April 2002. After their relations turned sour, the wife went into depression in 2016 and is in therapy.
In 2022, the husband filed for divorce in a Mangaluru family court and the wife sought Rs 1.5 lakh per month as maintenance, citing that the husband was then earning Rs 5 lakh every month. The husband claimed he had properties and an annual income of Rs 83 lakh. The family court fixed the maintenance at Rs 60,000 in Sept 2023, after which the husband appealed in HC.
After studying the family court order, Justice Nagaprasanna took note of the husband’s financial position and the fact that the wife does not have any independent income as she has been a homemaker.
Dismissing a petition by the Bengaluru-based husband to halve the amount, Justice M Nagaprasanna declined to accept his contention that his wife is not capable of using such a huge amount due to her mental condition and that it might be misused by others.
“If the husband is aware his wife is mentally unsound and needs treatment for her depression, it is his duty to pay maintenance. It is not a case where the husband is not in a position to pay. He lives a life of luxury,” the judge said.
The couple got married in April 2002. After their relations turned sour, the wife went into depression in 2016 and is in therapy.
In 2022, the husband filed for divorce in a Mangaluru family court and the wife sought Rs 1.5 lakh per month as maintenance, citing that the husband was then earning Rs 5 lakh every month. The husband claimed he had properties and an annual income of Rs 83 lakh. The family court fixed the maintenance at Rs 60,000 in Sept 2023, after which the husband appealed in HC.
After studying the family court order, Justice Nagaprasanna took note of the husband’s financial position and the fact that the wife does not have any independent income as she has been a homemaker.
