“Adult Child Entitled to Maintenance Under Hindu Marriage Act While Pursuing Education and Lacking Financial Independence”: Delhi High Court.
August 2, 2024 2024-10-08 11:16“Adult Child Entitled to Maintenance Under Hindu Marriage Act While Pursuing Education and Lacking Financial Independence”: Delhi High Court.
“Adult Child Entitled to Maintenance Under Hindu Marriage Act While Pursuing Education and Lacking Financial Independence”: Delhi High Court.
By Tanvi Mehta
In a recent ruling, the Delhi High Court addressed significant issues surrounding the Family Court’s jurisdiction and maintenance rights in a matrimonial dispute. The case involved a husband and wife married on December 13, 1998, under Hindu rites, who have been living separately since January 2004. The couple has a son, Dhairya, born on May 28, 2001. The husband had initially sought divorce on the grounds of cruelty, and the wife had concurrently filed for interim maintenance under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA).
The husband’s divorce petition was filed in May 2004 under Section 13(1)(ia) of the HMA. Concurrently, the wife sought interim maintenance, which led to a Family Court order in September 2004 directing the husband to pay Rs. 18,000 per month. This amount was later increased to Rs. 20,000 per month by the appellate court in November 2005. In 2009, the wife filed an application for further enhancement of the interim maintenance, citing a significant increase in the husband’s income. Despite the husband withdrawing his divorce petition in July 2016, the wife continued to pursue her application for enhanced maintenance.
The Family Court ruled in favor of the wife, directing the husband to pay Rs. 1,15,000 per month as interim maintenance for the period from February 2009 to July 2016. Additionally, the court ordered that Rs. 35,000 per month be paid to the son until he turned 26 or became financially independent, with the amount subject to a 10% increase every two years.The case went to Delhi High Court via appeal.
The Delhi High Court examined the key issues raised in these appeals. The primary question was whether the Family Court could continue to rule on applications under Sections 24 and 26 of the HMA after the divorce petition had been withdrawn. The High Court held that the Family Court does not become functus officio upon the withdrawal of the divorce petition. Accepting the husband’s argument would allow him to unilaterally evade his financial responsibilities, leaving the wife and son without support. The High Court, therefore, affirmed that the Family Court retained jurisdiction to adjudicate the maintenance applications.
The second critical issue addressed by the High Court was whether maintenance under Section 26 of the HMA could be granted to an adult child. The court held that a child pursuing education is entitled to maintenance even after reaching the age of majority, provided they are not financially independent. The court found that the son, who was 17 years old at the time of the Family Court’s judgment and pursuing higher education, was rightly awarded maintenance. The court also acknowledged the son’s academic aspirations to become a software engineer, justifying the maintenance awarded.
The High Court dismissed the husband’s appeal, affirming the Family Court’s decision that it retained jurisdiction to grant maintenance. The court also allowed the wife’s appeal to the extent that the interim maintenance was enhanced from Rs. 1,15,000 to Rs. 1,45,000 per month for the period between February 2009 and July 2016. Additionally, the husband was directed to pay arrears of maintenance, along with 12% interest per annum on the shortfall, within eight weeks.
[Case Title: PKJ v. AJ, Citation: (2024 Del HC) MAT.APP. (F.C.) 226/2018 & CM APPL. 36723/2018, CM APPL. 4245/2021, CM APPL. 51379/2022, CM APPL. 52044/2022].
