Wife Can't Be Denied Maintenance Just Because Parents Support Her: Allahabad High Court
Wife Can't Be Denied Maintenance Just Because Parents Support Her: Allahabad High Court Published By, Last Updated: June 30, 2026, 20:10 IST The court made
Wife Can't Be Denied Maintenance Just Because Parents Support Her: Allahabad High Court Published By, Last Updated: June 30, 2026, 20:10 IST The court made the observation while allowing a criminal revision petition filed by a woman and her two minor children against an order of a family court in Bulandshahr. Allahabad High Court (File pic) The Allahabad High Court has ruled that a wife cannot be denied maintenance from her husband merely because her parents are supporting her financially during a period of distress. The court made the observation while allowing a criminal revision petition filed by a woman and her two minor children against an order of a family court in Bulandshahr. The family court had earlier rejected the woman’s claim for maintenance, though it had granted Rs 3,000 per month to each of the children. Setting aside that decision, the High Court held that parental assistance cannot replace a husband’s legal obligation to maintain his wife under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code. It also noted that the family court had failed to properly assess the adequacy of maintenance for the children, calling the earlier amount “wholly inadequate". What the court observe? Justice Garima Prashad observed that a wife cannot be denied maintenance from her husband under section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) merely because her parents support her financially during times of distress.
The court emphasised that the income of the wife’s parents should not be considered her income, and parental assistance cannot replace the legal obligation of the husband to support his wife. The wife had initially filed an application under Section 125 CrPC seeking maintenance from her husband, alleging that after marriage, she was subjected to harassment, taunts and cruelty by him and his family members. It was alleged that her husband, the second opposite party in the petition, is a retired army personnel who stopped maintaining marital relations with her and later informed her that he had married another woman. She alleged that in January 2020, she was assaulted and expelled from the matrimonial home along with the children, and since then, she has been residing at her parental home with no independent source of income and is dependent upon her parents. Against her plea, the husband pleaded that the wife had left the matrimonial home without sufficient cause and that she was allegedly maintaining illicit relations with certain persons. He further stated that during his service in the Army, Rs 11,303 was deducted every month from his salary and paid to his wife and children until his retirement in November 2020. He claimed that after his retirement, he receives a pension of about Rs 21,025 per month and has no other source of income.
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