Father can't avoid maintaining children just because mother is earning: HC

A man cannot avoid the responsibility of maintaining his children on the ground that his estranged wife is earning because a lot of time and effort also go into the upbringing, the Delhi High Court said Monday while upholding the interim maintenance awarded to a woman.

Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva said it would be incorrect to hold both parents equally responsible for the expenses of a child.

"One cannot put value to the time and effort put in by the mother in upbringing of the child. No doubt mother, if she is earning, should also contribute towards the expenses of the child but the expenses cannot be divided equally between the two," the high court said.

The observation came on a man's plea challenging orders of a trial court and appellate court awarding Rs 60,000 per month as interim maintenance to his wife to take care of their three minor daughters, one of whom was born to him from an earlier marriage.

The husband, in his appeal against the lower court's decisions, had contended that he was a pauper and that his wife was running a business and therefore, he should not be saddled with the liability of maintaining either her or the minor daughters.

Rejecting his contention, the high court said, "Merely because respondent-wife is earning, does not give an excuse to the husband to avoid working or undertake the responsibility of maintaining his children."