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Synopsis

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has reaffirmed that a wife’s educational qualifications cannot be a ground to deny her maintenance.

The ruling, delivered by Justice Binod Kumar Dwivedi, emphasised that education alone does not negate the need for maintenance. The court's ruling came in response to a case where a lower court had previously ordered a monthly maintenance payment of Rs. 9,000 to a woman despite her educational background.

The case was brought before the High Court by the husband (petitioner) challenging a directive from the Principal Judge of the Family Court in Neemuch, which had mandated that the petitioner pay maintenance to the wife (respondent). The petitioner argued that the wife’s educational qualifications should enable her to support herself, thus negating the need for maintenance.

The court, however, rejected this argument stating that “A mere ground that the respondent is educated, cannot be a ground not to award any maintenance amount to her.” The court further pointed out that the petitioner, who earns approximately Rs. 80,000 per month, is financially capable of providing support to the respondent, who is currently unemployed.

The court found that there was no evidence of any legal or procedural errors in the lower court’s decision that would warrant a revision. “From the very perusal of the impugned order, there is nothing apparent to point out any illegality, irregularity or impropriety in the order, which is required for invoking the revisional jurisdiction of this Court,” the court stated.

The petition was, thus, dismissed.

 

Cause Title: Rahul Patel v Hemlata Malviya [CRR-3801-2024]