Overview
- A single-judge bench led by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma set aside a family court’s Rs 20,000 monthly interim maintenance order and remanded the case for a fresh, reasoned decision within one month.
- Interim orders must state the documents considered, the approximate income or earning capacity presumed, and the reasoning used to arrive at the maintenance figure.
- The court held that assessing actual or reasonably expected income is the first step in fixing maintenance, noting it cannot be determined in a vacuum.
- Prior employment or qualifications of a wife do not automatically establish current employability after years of caregiving, and living with parents after separation is not a basis to deny or reduce maintenance.
- While acknowledging heavy caseloads and incomplete affidavits that strain family courts, the judgment insists on fairness over mechanical presumptions and orders circulation to district judges, family courts, and the Delhi Judicial Academy for inclusion in training modules.