Don’t treat hubbies like ‘armless soldiers’: Madras high court

Source – timesofindia.indiatimes.com

CHENNAI: Do not treat husbands like “armless soldiers” and order them to pay maintenance to wives in a “mechanical manner”, Madras high court told family courts on Thursday.

A man is a son to his parents and is liable to maintain his aged parents as well, the HC said, adding that family courts should not brush this aspect aside lightly and order, in certain cases, the husband to pay up to two thirds of his income to the estranged wife.

Justice RMT Teekaraman, pointing out that a family court had directed a man earning Rs 10,500 a month to pay Rs 7,000 to his wife and child, said it would leave just Rs 3,500 for the man to maintain himself and his aged father. “While awarding the maintenance in favour of the wife and children, the court should take into consideration his responsibility to look after the aged old parents, since the husband has been fastened with statutory objections to look after and maintain not only his wife but also his parents under the very same Section 125 of CrPC.“

Slamming the attitude of the family court, the judge said such an order needed to be deprecated. The judge said, “The trial court ought to have weighed the entire circumstances and placed reasonable assessment financial burden on the shoulder of the husband.”

The case relates to a petition filed by Varadharajan whose marriage took place in Febraury 2001 in Mayiladuthurai, and a child was born in February 2003. Claiming that he had been neglecting her and their daughter, his wife filed a petition in a Chennai court seeking maintenance under Section 125 CrPC for herself and the daughter.