The Jharkhand High Court recently said that though it is the moral obligation of the husband to provide maintenance to his wife, ensuring she maintains a lifestyle similar to that of her matrimonial home, but this does not justify burdening the man to the extent that marriage becomes a punishment to him.

“Certainly, it is moral duty of the husband to pay maintenance to his wife so that she may also reside in the same status as would have been in matrimonial house; but it does not mean to squeeze milk from the husband that the marriage becomes felony for the husband,” the court said in its order, as reported by LiveLaw.

The court was hearing a petition in a matrimonial dispute filed by a Dhanbad resident, who pleaded for revision of the maintenance amount awarded to his wife.

During the hearing, it was brought to the court’s attention that the wife has filed income tax returns for the past four years despite claiming no income. The court, however, said that even if the woman was earning, she was entitled to maintenance from her husband.

The husband also informed the bench that he has to take care of his ailing mother.

The court partly allowed the revision petition challenging the Dhanbad family court order, directing the petitioner to pay a monthly allowance of ₹40,000 to his wife.

The couple got married in 2018. However, soon after the marriage, they separated because of domestic disputes.