Maintenance allowed to husband!

Taking into consideration the documents, which have been filed on record of this court and the affidavit of the petitioner, the balance sheet, the Profit and Loss Account of the guest house and the income and expenditure of the guest house, it is clear that the petitioner has a substantial income from the business, which was at one time started jointly by both the petitioner and the respondent. The purpose of section 24 of Hindu Marriage Act is to provide support to a spouse who has no independent source of income and is incapable of maintaining himself/herself. It is trite law that the term „support‟ is not to be construed in a narrow manner so as to mean bare subsistence. It means that the other spouse, who has no independent source of income, is provided with such maintenance so as to live in a similar status as was enjoyed by them in their matrimonial home. It is the purpose of section 24 that the wife or the husband who has no sufficient source of income for her or his support or for the expenses of the proceedings must be provided with such reasonable sum that strikes equity between the spouses.