On December 2, a single-judge bench of the Gujarat High Court led by Justice Samir J. Dave ruled that a husband is obligated to provide financial support to his legally wedded wife and children and cannot avoid this obligation. The bench went on to say that as a father and a husband, the man has a social and legal obligation to provide his wife and children with the same standard of living they had before the divorce.

"It is the duty of the husband to maintain his wife and to provide financial support to her and their children and he cannot shirk his responsibility as husband as well as father to maintain his legally wedded wife and children, which is his social and lawful duty towards them and the wife and children would be entitled to the same standard of living, which they were enjoying while living with them."

The Single Judge examined the facts of the case and recalled that the purpose of Section 125 of the CrPC was to provide the applicant with prompt relief.

"An application under Section 125 CrPC. is predicated on two conditions : (1) the husband has sufficient means; and (2) he “neglects” to maintain his wife, who is unable to maintain herself. In such a case, the husband may be directed by the Magistrate to pay such monthly sum to the wife, as deemed fit. Maintenance is awarded on the basis of the financial capacity of the husband and other relevant factors."

In this case, the husband was discovered to be earning Rs. 5,00,000 per month. The Family Court granted maintenance to his wife and daughter on this basis, taking into account the necessary expenses and currently underway inflation.

According to Rajnesh v. Neha & Ors [(2021) 2 SCC 324], the maintenance award must be reasonable and realistic; it should not be so lavish that it becomes oppressive and unbearable for the respondent, nor should it be so meager that it drives the wife to penury. As a result, the applicant was ordered to pay the arrears of maintenance awarded by the Family Court. As a result, the revision petition was denied.

Case Title: Shripal Raja Rajendrakumar Shah v. State of Gujarat & Ors
Citation: R/CRIMINAL REVISION APPLICATION NO. 213 of 2022