The Delhi High Court has stepped in to revise a family court’s earlier order on maintenance in the case of Smt. Shikha Badhani vs. Shri Hemant Badhani. The division bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Renu Bhatnagar, on September 10, 2025, made it clear that the wide financial disparity between the estranged spouses could not be brushed aside.
Background
Shikha Badhani and Hemant Badhani married in November 2013 and had a daughter in 2016. However, the couple has been living separately since October 2019, with the child residing with the mother. Hemant, a senior computer scientist with Adobe Systems in the USA, earns more than ₹1 crore annually, while Shikha works as an Assistant Professor in Delhi University, drawing around ₹1.25 lakh per month.
In March 2024, the Tis Hazari Family Court directed Hemant to pay ₹35,000 per month towards the daughter’s upkeep, along with school expenses. But the court denied Shikha any maintenance for herself, reasoning that she was educated, employed, and capable of sustaining independently. Dissatisfied, Shikha appealed, demanding ₹3.5 lakh monthly for herself and a higher amount for the child.
The High Court firmly disagreed with the family court’s logic. “The determinative test is not merely whether the wife is employed, but whether her income is sufficient to maintain the same standard of living as she was accustomed to during cohabitation,” the bench observed.
The judges noted the stark imbalance- Hemant’s earnings were nearly ten times Shikha’s. They pointed out that Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act is not about equalizing incomes but ensuring fairness and dignity so that the weaker spouse and the child are not disadvantaged.
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Quoting from earlier rulings, the court emphasized that “merely because the wife is earning, it does not automatically operate as an absolute bar for awarding maintenance.” Instead, the law requires a realistic approach, avoiding extremes—neither too meagre to drive a spouse into hardship nor so lavish that it becomes oppressive.
The bench also remarked that Shikha’s dependence on her parents for housing and support could not be treated as a permanent solution. With her income alone, she could not maintain the same standard of living that both she and her daughter had during the marriage.
Decision
After considering all factors-the parties’ social status, lifestyle, income gap, and the needs of the minor child-the High Court enhanced the monthly maintenance from ₹35,000 to a consolidated sum of ₹1.5 lakh for both mother and child. Other directions of the family court were left unchanged.
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With this, the appeal was disposed of, giving Shikha significant relief and reaffirming that maintenance must ensure dignity and parity, not just bare survival.
Case: Smt. Shikha Badhani vs. Shri Hemant Badhani
Date of Judgment: 10 September 2025
