HMA 24: No Maintenence if Wife is Capable of EARNING!

The learned trial court, despite having entire material before her, did not assess the income of both parties and passed an order merely looking at the status of the husband as a qualified engineer having experience and directed him to pay a maintenance of Rs.10,000/- per month to the wife. The order is very strange. It is not known to the law to fix the maintenance for wife looking at the qualification and experience of a person ignoring the qualifications and experience of the wife. If the husband was an engineer, the wife was an advocate. If the husband was having experience as an engineer, the wife was having experience as an advocate and was a notary public. Mere assertion of wife that she was in the past not allowed to practice, would not mean that she has no professional income. She was enrolled as a member of the bar. She had shown her previous income in her income tax returns.

I consider that the income of both husband and wife is almost same. Both are almost equally qualified. There was no justification before the trial court to grant any interim maintenance to the wife.