'Man cannot deny maintenance to major daughter under DV Act'

A man cannot wash his hands off the responsibility of giving maintenance to a daughter, living with his estranged wife, even after she becomes a major, a Delhi court has said.

A man cannot wash his hands off the responsibility of giving maintenance to a daughter, living with his estranged wife, even after she becomes a major, a Delhi court has said.

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"In the Domestic Violence Act, no difference is made between a minor and major for the purpose of maintenance," Additional Sessions Judge Madhu Jain said.

The court refused to set aside the order of a Metropolitan Magistrate directing the man to pay maintenance of Rs 2,000 to his daughter under the provisions of the Act.

Delhi resident Balwinder Singh, the father of the girl, challenged the magistrate order passed in August last year on the ground that his daughter had attained majority and could not seek maintenance under the Protection of Women from the Domestic Violence Act.

The court turned down his plea noting that even though his daughter had became a major, she was not earning.

"Now-a-days, the fees in the public school as well as private institution for pursuing any professional course after class 12 is known to everybody and, therefore, by no set of imagination, it can be presumed that the daughter shall be able to maintain herself," the court said.