Particle.news
Download on the App Store
3 ARTICLES
·
6d ago

Delhi High Court Raises Estranged Wife’s Maintenance to ₹14,000, Orders CGHS Restoration

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma held that higher pension income plus inflation amounted to a material change warranting a calibrated increase.

A bench of justice Swarana Kanta Sharma delivered the ruling on Monday while dealing with a 60-year-old woman’s plea challenging the family court’s order refusing to enhance her maintenance. (HT Archive)
The couple married in April 1990 but separated two years later, after the woman alleged physical and mental harassment and dowry demands.

Overview

  • The High Court set aside the family court’s refusal to enhance maintenance, finding it failed to account for changed circumstances.
  • Monthly maintenance was increased from ₹10,000 to ₹14,000, with arrears to be paid within six weeks from the date of the order.
  • The court directed restoration of the wife’s name on the CGHS card, calling access to CGHS/DGHS a valuable right flowing from the marital relationship.
  • The judge noted both parties are senior citizens and that the wife remains financially dependent, but moderated the amount due to the husband’s reduced post‑retirement means.
  • The original ₹10,000 award was set in 2012 based on an income of about ₹28,000, and the wife later sought enhancement citing the husband’s promotion to PGT and income rising to around ₹40,000.