The Allahabad High Court held that a husband’s ability to financially maintain a second wife cannot defeat the first wife’s legal claim for maintenance. The Court relied on a Supreme Court ruling to reaffirm the rights of legally wedded spouses.
The Allahabad High Court ruled that a husband’s financial capability to support a second wife cannot invalidate the first wife’s claim for maintenance, referencing a Supreme Court decision.
Justice Harvir Singh, sitting alone, rejected Mohammad Asif’s criminal revision petition against a maintenance order.
He emphasized that financial support is crucial, particularly when the wife is living independently and relying on her parents for financial assistance.
Asif had contested a June 6 order from the Aligarh Family Court that mandated him to pay Rs 20,000 monthly to his first wife, Respondent No 2. He argued that his status as a laborer at a hardware store in Bengaluru meant he did not earn enough to afford such a payment.
He contended that the maintenance amount was excessive and beyond his financial capacity. In his petition, Asif’s attorney pointed out that the Family Court ignored an income certificate from the Revenue Officer dated November 9, 2018, which indicated Asif’s annual income was approximately Rs 83,000. This certificate was valid for five years.
Initially, the Family Court had set an interim maintenance amount of Rs 2,000, which was later increased to Rs 20,000. Asif claimed this increase was not only excessive but also contrary to the evidence presented.
The respondent’s lawyer informed the court that Asif had remarried, a fact that emerged during the June 6 ruling.
The wife’s attorney also pointed out that the hardware store where Asif is employed is owned by his father and operates as a legitimate business entity with a registered Goods and Services Tax (GST) number.
Noting that the respondent is unemployed and financially reliant on her parents, The lawyer argued,
“If the petitioner can maintain his second wife, he cannot ignore the first one,”
Citing the Supreme Court judgment in the case of Shamima Farooqui v Shahid Khan, the court asserted that the obligation to maintain a legally married wife cannot be dismissed based on such circumstances.
Thus, it concluded that the petitioner had no valid grounds for his petition and dismissed it.
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