Wife entitled to get maintenance even if she runs a business & earns off it: Bom HC

It has been held by the Bombay High Court that a wife is entitled to maintenance from her husband, even if she runs a business and earns income out of this business. This judgment was given while disposing of a criminal revision application filed by a 51 year-old man challenging the amount/quantum of maintenance that had been granted by a Family Court judgment. Justice N.J. Jamadar passed the order on the revision application wherein he granted payment of Rs. 12,000/- per month as maintenance to wife from the date of application and amount of Rs. 7,000/- as cost of litigation. The maintenance and cost of litigation have been granted under Section 125 of the code of Criminal Procedure. Justice N.J. Jamadar, however, noted that the Family Court failed to consider that the wife did have a source of income and hence decreased the amount of maintenance from Rs. 15,000 per month to Rs. 12,000 per month. It was observed that merely because the wife was earning something, it would not be a ground to reject her maintenance claim. However, it was also observed that the previous order that granted Rs. 15,000, was required to be interfered with to the extent of the quantum of maintenance since the fact was that she did have an earning and was running a business. In matters of Divorce, under Section 125 of the CrPC, the Court/Magistrate has the power to award any amount he/she deems fit to be paid monthly or at any appropriate interval to the wife. However, the onus is on the wife to prove that she must be granted such maintenance.