Recently, the Delhi High Court held that the provision for providing interim maintenance and litigation expenses to a spouse under the Hindu Marriage Act applies irrespective of gender, ensuring a neutral approach in its application.

Justices V Kameswar Rao and Anoop Kumar Mendiratta, in a division bench, highlighted that a spouse, capable of earning but opting to stay unemployed without valid explanation or attempts to seek employment, should not unilaterally burden the other party with sole responsibility for expenses.

The equivalence does not have to be with mathematical precision but with the objective to provide relief to the spouse by way of maintenance pendente lite and litigation expenses, who is unable to maintain and support during the pendency of proceedings and to ensure that party should not suffer due to paucity of source of income. The provision is gender neutral and the provisions of Section 24 & 25 of HMA provide for the rights, liabilities and obligations arising from marriage between the parties under HMA.

Case Brief - 

The court was addressing an appeal filed by a husband contesting a family court's decision that mandated him to provide Rs. 30,000 monthly to his wife as interim maintenance, starting from the divorce petition's filing until its resolution. Additionally, he was directed to cover litigation expenses amounting to Rs. 51,000.

In revising the challenged ruling, the court observed that despite the wife asserting a lack of independent income, she possessed a sound educational foundation as a graduate from Delhi University. The court remarked that the wife seemed to have voluntarily chosen social work, as she claimed, even though there were no apparent barriers preventing her from pursuing gainful employment.

“We are of the considered opinion that maintenance pendente lite at the rate of ₹21,000/- per month to the respondent, as paid in the proceedings under PWDV Act from the date of filing of the petition before the learned Family Court till its disposal would be reasonable. The same shall be paid along with litigation expenses/arrears in terms of impugned order passed by the learned Judge, Family Court,” the court said.

Furthermore, considering the “inflation and rising prices”, the court said that the maintenance pendente lite during the pendency of divorce proceedings shall be enhanced at Rs. 1,500 per month for each succeeding year (i.e. Rs. 22,500 per month w.e.f. January 01, 2024; Rs. 24,000 per month w.e.f. January 01, 2025 and so on till disposal of the petition).

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