Interim Maintenance U/S. 24 HMA Unnecessary When Wife Has Substantial Income & Immovable Property: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court observed that the object of Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act was only for providing interim maintenance to the wife to enable her to get sufficient income to live a comfortable lifestyle, thus, granting interim maintenance to a wife having substantial income is unnecessary.

The Husband had challenged the order granting interim maintenance to the wife as she was financially self-sufficient.

A Bench of Justice P.B. Balaji observed, “The object of Section 24 is only for providing interim maintenance to the wife to enable her to get sufficient income to live a comfortable lifestyle. I do not see that the respondent is not possessed of such sufficient income already, warranting further monies from the petitioner by way of interim maintenance…Even with regard to the award of Rs.30,000/- maintenance to the son, the petitioner has accepted the said order and has not even challenged the same. In the light of the above, I am not able to sustain the order of the Family Court awarding interim maintenance to the respondent/wife, which is wholly unnecessary in the light of the substantial income that has accrued to the respondent by way of dividends in Scan World and the fact that the respondent also owns valuable immovable properties.”

Senior Advocate T. Gowthaman represented the Petitioner, while Advocate J. James represented the Respondent.

Case Brief

A Revision Petition was filed by the husband challenging the order of the Family Court wherein the husband was directed to pay interim maintenance of Rs.30,000/- per month each to the wife and the minor son.

It was contended by the husband that the wife was not only financially self-sufficient but also affluent and there was no necessity to pay any interim maintenance to his wife. However, the husband does not challenge the award of maintenance towards his minor son. It was also submitted that the wife was a Director of a Company and received regular dividends.

Court’s Observation

The High Court noted that only the award of maintenance to the wife is under challenge. The Court referred to Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act and noted that the object of awarding interim maintenance was only to ensure that the wife has sufficient income to enable her to maintain herself and the said sustenance was not mere survival, but should be on the same lines of a comfortable lifestyle that she would have had in the matrimonial home.

With regard to the financial position of the wife, the Court noted that she has received substantial monies for the last three financial years and owned valuable immovable properties.

“The object of Section 24 is only for providing interim maintenance to the wife to enable her to get sufficient income to live a comfortable lifestyle. I do not see that the respondent is not possessed of such sufficient income already, warranting further monies from the petitioner by way of interim maintenance”, the Court said.

Cause Title: ABC V. XYZ

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