New Delhi: The Supreme Court has said that a husband who divorces his wife has to maintain her. If the wife has minor children living with her, he will also have to take responsibility for their maintenance. For this the husband has to earn. If necessary, women and children have to be supported by manual labor or day labor. The Supreme Court said in a judgment that the husband can never avoid this responsibility.
A bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Bela M Trivedi struck down the provision for maintenance in Article 125 of the CRPC and said that this section of the Constitution is meant for social justice. This provision is specifically for the protection of women and children. Therefore, the court rejected the husband’s argument that since my business has been closed, there is no source of income, so he cannot support his wife and children.
The court said that the husband is a physically able man, so he is bound to earn decently for the maintenance of his wife and minor children. After hearing all the arguments of Mudei and Mudala and receiving all the evidence regarding Mudala’s financial resources and source of income, the court said that the husband is capable of supporting the wife and children but he has not knowingly provided or neglected, which is unacceptable. So the court said that the concerned husband has to pay 10,000 rupees per month for the maintenance of the wife and 6,000 rupees per month for the minor son. Earlier, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had dismissed the verdict in favor of the husband.