New Delhi: Noting that a highly qualified, gainfully employed wife is also entitled to maintenance if she enjoyed a better standard of life in the matrimonial home, Delhi High Court has enhanced the maintenance from Rs 35,000 monthly, fixed by the family court only for the estranged couple’s child, to Rs 1.5 lakh monthly cumulatively for both the wife and the child, payable by the husband.“As settled by law, the financial self-sufficiency of the wife must be assessed not in absolute terms but relative to the standard of living maintained during the marriage… maintenance must be calibrated in a manner that allows both parties, especially the financially weaker spouse, to live with dignity and maintain a comparable lifestyle, particularly when the respondent (husband’s) income is almost 10-fold that of the appellant,” a bench of justices Navin Chawla and Renu Bhatnagar observed in a verdict on Wednesday.The wife is a Delhi University assistant professor earning over Rs 1.2 lakh per month while her husband is a senior data scientist with a multinational company drawing an annual income exceeding Rs 1 crore, apart from enjoying additional employment benefits such as RSUs, stock options, international travel allowances and investments, HC noted.“Despite her employment, her income does not sufficiently meet the demands of sustaining the standard of living that both she and the minor child were accustomed to prior to the separation. It is, therefore, evident that while the appellant earns an income, it is not comparable to the scale and diversity of the respondent’s earnings,” the bench said, flagging the “stark disparity between the financial capacities of the parties”.Faulting the family court for focusing only on the wife’s qualification and employment, HC noted though she is “earning, her income is insufficient to support her own needs and those of the minor child”.“She is currently residing with her parents, which cannot continue indefinitely, and her limited earnings compel her to remain dependent on them, causing inconvenience and hardship to the family. With such resources, she is unable to maintain a reasonable standard of living,” it said.In contrast, the husband’s “substantially higher income makes him financially capable of providing adequate maintenance. The mere fact that the appellant is earning does not disentitle her to claim maintenance, as she is entitled to the same standard of living that she enjoyed during her matrimonial life,” the court said.
