Delhi High Court enhances wife’s maintenance citing huge income gap with husband

The Delhi High Court has enhanced maintenance for a wife after noting her husband earns nearly ten times more.

A Division Bench of Justices Renu Bhatnagar and Navin Chawla held that employment alone does not disentitle a wife from seeking support, as she is entitled to the lifestyle enjoyed during marriage. 

The Division bench noted that the wife, an Assistant Professor earning about ₹1.25 lakh per month, is entitled to the standard of living she enjoyed during marriage. Her husband, a senior scientist at Adobe, earns over ₹1 crore annually; hence, the Court raised maintenance to ₹1.5 lakh monthly.

Earlier, the Family Court had granted Rs 35,000 monthly for the minor daughter but denied maintenance to the wife.