Delhi HC rejects wife’s plea for increased maintenance after separation | Latest News Delhi

Couples who tend to display wealth before marriage pretend to be poor after separation, the Delhi High Court said, while rejecting a wife’s plea for increased maintenance payments from her husband after they separated in 2020 separated within 10 months of marriage.

The wife had approached the Delhi High Court seeking an increase in monthly maintenance from Rs 25,000 to Rs 2 lakh (representative photo) {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/ userSubscribed} }

“We find that before marriage, each partner tends to flaunt their wealth and claim exaggerated income, but unfortunately, the day a dispute arises between them, their incomes suddenly falter and both of them pretend , being poor and having no steady source of income,” said Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna.

“Nevertheless, both continue to enjoy a similar standard of living from sources that are unknown or are loans from friends and family, details of which are not disclosed,” the court continued.

The order, passed on October 11, came on the wife’s application challenging a family court’s July 28 order directing the husband to pay her maintenance of Rs 25,000 a month.

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In determining the amount, the court took note of the fact that the couple had married on December 6, 2019 in a five-star hotel and traveled to the Maldives for their honeymoon, as well as the husband’s bank statements and concluded that both belonged to a higher middle class.

The wife had approached the Supreme Court seeking an increase in the monthly maintenance from Rs 25,000 to Rs 2 lakh.

The wife, who was represented by lawyer Ruchi Munja, alleged that she has no income and has been unemployed since becoming a Chartered Accountant (CA) but quit her job in June 2022.

The husband, on the other hand, appearing through lawyer Sunil Mittal, argued that his wife was awarded much more maintenance than she was entitled to as she was not only highly qualified but worked until June 2022 and was also a sleeping partner in her father’s company.

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He also submitted that his monthly expenses corresponded to his income and that the unjustified amounts claimed by his wife in various proceedings reflected her intention to harass her husband.

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