New Delhi

The provision for maintenance pendente lite and litigation expenses under the Hindu Marriage Act is gender-neutral, as the Delhi High Court has emphasized.

The Division Bench, presided over by Justices V Kameswar Rao and Anoop Kumar Mendiratta, was deliberating over an appeal filed by a husband who contested a family court order that required him to pay Rs. 30,000 per month for maintenance pendente lite and Rs. 51,000 for litigation costs.

The Bench ruled that couples who choose to choose unemployment without good cause and have a reasonable earning potential shouldn’t force their partner to shoulder all of the financial obligations. According to the court, the equivalency need not be exact in mathematics in order to relieve the spouse while the case is pending and prevent the parties from suffering from a lack of income.

It clarified the meaning of the Hindu Marriage Act’s Sections 24 and 25, which list the responsibilities, rights, and liabilities associated with marriage.

The wife claimed to have no independent income, and the court acknowledged this while modifying the family court’s order, noting her reasonable educational background as a Delhi University graduate. The wife did volunteer social work, the court noted, even though she claimed to have no barriers to employment. The court further decided to grant an annual enhancement of maintenance pendente lite during divorce proceedings in order to account for inflation and rising prices.

The maintenance is scheduled to rise to Rs. 22,500 per month on January 1, 2024, and then at yearly intervals until the petition is resolved.