NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court has stressed that a man cannot evade his legal obligation to pay maintenance to his wife by opting for early retirement, stepping away from a stable source of income. In a recent judgment, the court stressed that the duty to pay maintenance is a continuing responsibility, and a husband cannot avoid it by “deliberately reducing his income”. The obligation, it noted, is assessed on the overall earning capacity of an individual, not merely his present salary. The court was hearing a husband’s appeal challenging a family court order directing him to pay maintenance to his estranged wife and children. Observing a trend in matrimonial disputes, the high court said: “Just as employed wives allegedly leave their jobs to gain an upper hand in maintenance disputes, quitting of jobs is similarly a common strategy adopted by well-qualified husbands to avoid paying proper maintenance.” “As it is a normal tendency of the parties to not disclose their true income in matrimonial disputes, the courts are permitted to make some guess work and arrive at a figure that a party may reasonably be earning,” HC further observed, agreeing with the family courts assessment.
