High cost of living, rise in husband’s income valid grounds for more alimony: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that a husband’s increased income and the rising cost of living are valid grounds for enhancing the maintenance amount payable to his separated wife.

The couple married in April 1990 but separated two years later, after the woman alleged physical and mental harassment and dowry demands.(Representational Image/Pexel )

A bench of justice Swarana Kanta Sharma delivered the ruling on Monday while dealing with a 60-year-old woman’s plea challenging the family court’s order refusing to enhance her maintenance.

The couple married in April 1990 but separated two years later, after the woman alleged physical and mental harassment and dowry demands. In 2012, the family court ordered the husband to pay ₹10,000 in monthly maintenance. In 2018, the woman sought an increase, citing her husband’s promotion from TGT to PGT, leading to a higher salary. Although the husband officially retired in 2017, he continued to remain employed on extension for another two years.

She also informed the court that her father, who supported her financially, had passed away, and she was incurring significant medical expenses. However, her application was dismissed by the family court in September last year, citing her bank account balance and existing fixed deposits as indicators of financial stability.

The woman alleged that the order was illegal since the court failed to consider that the maintenance awarded in 2012 was fixed on the basis of her husband’s income of ₹28,000 whereas, at the time of passing this order, it increased to ₹40,000. She also alleged that although her husband was a government employee, he had removed her name from the CGHS card.

Opposing the plea, the 70-year-old husband argued that his financial capacity had significantly reduced following his retirement in July 2017.

Ultimately, justice Sharma set aside the family court’s order, saying that the court failed to appreciate that the income against which the maintenance was assessed in 2012 was lower than the man’s current pensionary income.

“The rise in his income coupled with the significant increase in the cost of living constitutes a clear change in circumstances warranting enhancement of the amount of maintenance,” justice Sharma said.

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