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HC: Estranged wife can’t be made to run around to meet financial needs of child
The HC dismissed a plea from the husband, who had challenged a Panchkula family court ruling for increase in monthly financial contribution being given to wife during pending divorce
The Punjab and Haryana high court has said that an estranged wife can’t be made to run around to meet financial needs of her child.
The high court dismissed the plea from the husband, who had challenged an order of a Panchkula family court, which ordered an increase of ₹2,000 to the monthly amount already being given by him.
“It is beyond the dignity of a person, mother herein, to keep running for the reimbursement of such expenditure from time to time and therefore, being a parental duty, it is expected of the father to discharge his financial obligation towards the minor daughter, without seeking any account thereof,” the bench of justice Arun Monga said.
The husband was giving ₹5,000 per month as ordered earlier by court. In August, acting on the plea from wife, the family court had directed him to pay ₹2, 000 more till the final decision on divorce petition.
The increase was ordered after taking into consideration that ₹5,000 was going towards paying the school fee of the couple’s eight-year-old daughter, and more money was required for her upbringing.
The husband had argued that he had to take care of his parents too. The court did not accept the argument stating that it was unable to accept that a person of such an educational background (the petitioner holds an MBA degree and works in private sector) cannot afford the expenses of school fee and parental obligations for his daughter.
As regards his other responsibilities as a son towards his parents, the same is no ground to be exempted from his parental duties, the court said, dismissing the plea.
