Husband should give maintenance allowance to wife and kids even after separation: Allahabad High Court

ALLAHABAD: In a significant development, the Allahabad High Court has ruled that the husband should give maintenance allowance to his wife and kids even after their separation. In its order, the high court said that maintaining the whole family is the legal, moral, social responsibility and commitment of an individual.

The high court passed the order in response to a petition filed by in the Jhansi Family Court in which the husband refused to give alimony to the wife living with her parents.

When this matter reached the High Court from the Jhansi Family Court, the court dismissed the petition of the husband saying that “marriage holds an important place in the Indian society. The parents dream that their daughter would get more love from her maternal in-laws.

However, their daughter is harassed and tortured, the dream of the parents shatter and leaves them in a state of deep shock, the court said. When the wife leaves her house and comes to her in-law's house, it is the moral and legal responsibility of the husband to treat her well.

The high court also validated Jhansi Family Court’s order directing the husband to pay Rs 3500 per month as maintenance to his wife and daughter.

The high court also rejected the petition filed by the husband challenging the validity of the family court’s order. The order was passed by Justice Saurabh Shyam Shamsheri on the petition filed by the petitioner Ashwani Yadav. Ashwani Yadav married Jyoti Yadav on 29 September 2015. A total of Rs 15 lakh rupees were spent on their marriage. 

However, Jyoti later filed a complaint alleging harassment by her in-laws for dowry. After this, on January 28, 2019, Jyoti returned to live with her parents. Her in-laws still remained adamant on their demand for a car. Jyoti then filed a legal suit under Section 125 Criminal Procedure Code against her in-laws. 

The Jhansi family court ordered her husband Ashwani to give Rs 2500 as the monthly allowance to wife Jyoti and Rs 1000 to daughter.