The Delhi High Court has enhanced the monthly maintenance of an estranged wife from ₹10,000 to ₹14,000, nearly 13 years after the original order was passed. The judgment, delivered on 1 September 2025 by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, came in response to a revision petition filed by the petitioner-wife against her estranged husband.
The case arose out of a plea by the wife seeking an increase in maintenance under Section 127 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C.), which allows courts to alter maintenance orders if circumstances change. The Family Court had earlier dismissed her plea in 2024, stating that there was no substantial change in her husband’s income.
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Marriage, Desertion and Earlier Orders
The couple had married in 1990 but separated just two years later. No child was born from the marriage. The wife alleged harassment and dowry demands, while the husband unsuccessfully sought restitution of conjugal rights and later divorce. In 2012, a Family Court directed him to pay ₹10,000 per month as maintenance, a decision upheld by the Delhi High Court in 2013.
Over the years, the wife filed several execution petitions to recover arrears. After her father’s death in 2017, who had been supporting her, she became fully dependent on maintenance. In 2018, she moved an application seeking enhancement of the amount to ₹30,000, citing rising expenses, deteriorating health, and her husband’s pension and alleged legal practice as sources of higher income.
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Family Court’s Refusal and High Court’s Intervention
The Family Court dismissed her application in September 2024, observing that the husband, now retired, received a pension of ₹40,068 per month, which was less than his earlier gross salary of ₹45,455. It concluded there was no change in his financial condition and rejected claims of additional income from private tuitions or law practice.
Challenging this, the wife argued before the High Court that the earlier order of 2012 was based on her husband’s net income of ₹28,705, not his gross salary. She also highlighted her medical issues, lack of family support, and the need for a Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) card, which had been denied to her despite being his legally wedded spouse.
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Justice Sharma agreed with these submissions, noting that the Family Court had erred by comparing gross salary with pension and overlooking the fact that the husband’s disposable income had actually increased. The Court remarked:
“The maintenance fixed in 2012 at ₹10,000 per month, found sufficient against the respondent’s net salary of ₹28,705, cannot be said to remain adequate in 2025 when he draws a pension of ₹40,068.”
Importance of CGHS Card for Medical Care
During the proceedings, the Court also directed the husband to restore his wife’s name on his CGHS card. Emphasizing that medical entitlements flow from marital status, Justice Sharma observed:
The entitlement to a CGHS card is a valuable right… and cannot be denied merely because the wife seeks treatment in a government hospital.”
While enhancing the maintenance, the Court also took note of the husband’s age and limited resources post-retirement. Stressing the need for balance, the Court said that both husband and wife, now senior citizens, deserved dignity in their twilight years. It ruled that the wife’s maintenance should be increased modestly to ₹14,000 per month, effective from the date of her revision petition, with arrears to be cleared within six weeks.
Case Title (Neutral): Petitioner-Wife vs. Respondent-Husband
Case Number: CRL.REV.P.(MAT.) 73/2024 & CRL.M.A. 32341/2024
