The Delhi High Court recently said that merely possessing a degree cannot be used to presume that a wife is intentionally not working with the intent of claiming interim maintenance from her husband.

“No inference can be drawn that merely because the wife is holding a degree of graduation, she must be compelled to work. It can also not be presumed that she is intentionally not working solely with a intent to claim interim maintenance from the husband,” the court said.

The court was hearing a plea by a man seeking a reduction in interim maintenance to his wife from Rs 25,000 to Rs 15,000 per month on the ground that she has a B.Sc degree.

The High Court said that there was no denial that the wife was a graduate, but she was never gainfully employed and there was no reason to interfere with the interim maintenance set by the family court.