NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court has reduced the interim maintenance payable by a husband to his wife from Rs 30,000 to Rs 25,000 per month, noting that the wife is well qualified and has her own rental and fixed deposit income.The court passed the order on August 11 while partly allowing a petition filed by the husband against the family court’s order granting Rs 30,000 per month as interim maintenance to his wife from April 12, 2021.Why did the husband challenge the maintenance amount?According to the court’s order, Ashutosh Rai Asthana and Yamita Rai Asthana got married on November 2, 1995, and have two children. Yamita sought maintenance from her husband on April 9, 2021, after differences arose between them.The family court initially awarded her Rs 25,000 as interim maintenance on January 15, 2022. It later passed an order on June 5, 2024, directing Ashutosh to pay Rs 30,000 per month from the date of the maintenance application.Ashutosh challenged the order before the high court. He argued that he was responsible for the financial needs of both children, including their elder daughter who was pursuing an MBBS course.He also said Yamita was an MBA in finance and was capable of earning. He pointed out that she was living in a house purchased by him and also had rental and fixed deposit income. He further said he had several loans to repay.However, the wife opposed the petition and said the family court had properly considered the husband’s financial position. She pointed out that his income was more than Rs 63 lakh a year and that he also had a cargo business.Why did the Delhi HC reduce the maintenance?Justice Saurabh Banerjee noted that both children were living with the husband and that he was paying for their education and other expenses. The court also noted that their daughter was pursuing an MBBS course.The court further noted that Yamita was living in a three-bedroom house bought by her husband. It said she was well qualified, with an MBA in Finance, and was capable of earning for herself.“She is an extremely qualified and educated woman, being an MBA Finance graduate, who is more than capable of earning for herself,” the court noted.The court also noted that Yamita was receiving Rs 10,450 per month as rental income and Rs 4,400 per month as interest from fixed deposits. It further said that Ashutosh had been voluntarily paying her Rs 20,000 per month even before the family court granted interim maintenance.“The respondent is also having rental income of Rs 10,450 per month and she is also getting interest from her FDs to the tune of Rs 4,400 per month; and … the petitioner was voluntary paying maintenance of Rs 20,000 per month before the grant of ad interim maintenance,” the court said.The court referred to the Supreme Court’s guidelines in Rajnesh v Neha, which require courts to consider factors such as the income and property of both sides, the number of people the husband has to support, his liabilities and his ability to pay while deciding maintenance.The high court said the family court had considered these factors but had not given them enough weight while fixing the maintenance at Rs 30,000 per month.“Although this court is mindful that the petitioner is a man of means, however, the court granting interim maintenance, cannot be oblivious of the cumulative variables which ought to be considered, especially since a balance has to be struck between the rights and liabilities of the applicant and non-applicant,” the court observed.The court therefore reduced the interim maintenance from Rs 30,000 to Rs 25,000 per month, with effect from April 12, 2021, the date on which Yamita filed her maintenance application.
