Alka Verma-
Published On: October 15, 2021 at 14:12 IST
The Delhi High Court recently ruled that a father just cannot liberate himself of all the responsibilities of his son’s education just because he may have attained the age of majority.
Justice Subramonium Prasad while passing an Order, stated that the Court cannot ignore the fact that simply attaining the age of a major does not mean that the major son is financially independent.
Adding to this, Justice Prasad also stated that at the age of 18, one will be either graduating from Class XII or will be in the first year of college.
“More often than not, it does not place him in a position wherein he can earn to sustain or maintain himself. It further places the entire burden on the mother to bear the expenses of educating the children without any contribution from the father, and this court cannot countenance such a situation,” added Justice Prasad.
The Court also emphasized on the purpose of Section 125 Code of Criminal Procedure, stated that it is meant to make sure that the wife and the children of the husband are not left in a penniless situation after the divorce.
“The husband must also carry the financial burden of making certain that his children are capable of attaining a position in society wherein they can sufficiently maintain themselves. The mother cannot be burdened with the entire expenditure on the education of her son just because he has completed 18 years of age,” stated the Court.
Furthermore, the Court also observed that a it is compulsory for the father to compensate the wife who is hardly left with anything for her own maintenance after spending on children.
The Court made these remarks while hearing Review Petition of the Order passed by a Court in June 2021.
As stated in the Order, the husband was asked to pay an amount of Rs 15,000 per month to his wife till their son completes his graduation or starts earning.
The father pointing to one of the Judgements of Supreme Court argued that Maintenance for children can only be given if the children have not attained majority.
The High Court in this case observed that the son had already attained majority in August 2018.
The Court also observed that the wife is a gazetted officer who earns more than Rs 70,000 per month and also gets education expenses from her employer.
However, the Court held that even where women are working and earning sufficiently, the husband can’t stand absolved automatically.
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Landmark Judgements on Maintenance of Wife