Husband earning dollars does not mean hefty maintenance, Delhi HC rules on wife's demand:

News Topical, Digital Desk : The Delhi High Court on Friday (January 2) delivered an important ruling regarding a husband's foreign income. In its ruling, the court stated that determining the amount of interim maintenance is not a mathematical exercise. The Delhi High Court clarified that if a husband earns abroad, simply converting his foreign income into Indian rupees and then awarding maintenance to his wife on that basis is not the correct approach.

Justice Amit Mahajan made this comment in a case in which a woman and her husband challenged a May 2023 order of the Family Court. The court had ordered the woman to receive interim maintenance of ₹50,000 per month. The wife sought an increase in this amount, while the husband contested the order.

What did the court say during the hearing?

The Delhi High Court, while hearing the case, stated that the court has limited jurisdiction when deciding interim maintenance. At this stage, neither a detailed investigation nor a final conclusion can be drawn.

In many cases, especially when the husband works abroad and does not provide complete information about his income, the court has to make an estimate based on the available facts, lifestyle and circumstances.

The Delhi High Court said that it was accepted that the husband worked as a software engineer at Amazon.com Services LLC in the US and was residing in the US, while the wife was unemployed.

Wife claims husband earns crores of rupees

In the Delhi High Court, the wife claimed that her husband's annual income was approximately ₹17.6 million (approximately ₹17.6 million) and had filed an affidavit stating his income in dollars. However, the court also noted that a person living in the United States also incurs expenses in dollars, and that the standard of living and expenses there are significantly different from those in Delhi.

The court further stated that maintenance cannot be determined by directly linking the husband's entire foreign income to Indian circumstances. Taking these factors into consideration, the High Court increased the interim maintenance amount from 50,000 rupees to 100,000 rupees per month. The court stated that this amount was a reasonable, practical, and circumstantial measure.