Wife can’t claim maintenance if her action adds to husband’s incapacity to earn: Allahabad HC

If a wife’s actions or omissions contribute to her husband’s incapacity to earn, she cannot claim maintenance from him, the Allahabad High Court has held. The court dismissed a revision petition of a woman seeking maintenance from her husband, a homoeopathic doctor, who was allegedly shot at by his brother-in-law and father-in-law during an altercation at his clinic.

Upholding the decision of a family court in Kushinagar, which rejected the maintenance application of the wife, Justice Lakshmi Kant Shukla observed that granting maintenance in such a scenario would result in grave injustice, particularly when the man’s earning capacity was destroyed by the criminal acts of the wife’s family.

Ved Prakash Singh was allegedly shot at by his wife’s brother and father during an altercation at his clinic, rendering him incapable of earning or providing maintenance to her. The High Court noted that a pellet remains lodged in the husband’s spinal cord and a surgery to remove it carries a high risk of paralysis, leaving him unable to sit comfortably or maintain employment.

The family court on May 7, 2025, rejected the wife’s application for interim maintenance. The High Court upheld this decision, noting that the man’s physical incapacity was undisputed and directly caused by the wife’s side of the family.

“While Indian society generally expects a husband to work and maintain his family, this case presented unique circumstances,” the court of Justice Shukla observed.

“It is well settled that though it is the pious obligation of a husband to maintain his wife, no such explicit legal duty has been cast upon the wife by any court of law.”

In the facts of the present case, it prima facie appears that the conduct of the wife and her family members has rendered the opposite party incapable of earning his livelihood, the court said.

“If a wife by her own acts or omissions causes or contributes to the incapacity of her husband to earn, she cannot be permitted to take advantage of such a situation and claim maintenance.

“Granting maintenance in such circumstances would result in grave injustice to the husband, and the court cannot shut its eyes from the reality emerging from the record,” it added.