Blitz Bureau
THE Supreme Court has dismissed a woman’s plea seeking maintenance from her estranged husband, citing that both are employed in the same post and she is financially independent.
Refusing relief to the woman, who is an assistant professor, a Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said that there was no ground for interference under Article 136 of the Constitution. “Both the first petitioner and respondent (husband and wife) are holding the same post of an Assistant Professor. No case for interference is made out in exercise of our jurisdiction under Article 136 of the Constitution of India.
The special leave petition is accordingly dismissed,” the Bench said. The woman had moved the Supreme Court after her maintenance plea was earlier rejected by the Madhya Pradesh High Court and a trial court. Opposing her claim, her husband argued that she was earning about ₹60,000 per month and held the same job designation as him.
However, the woman contended that her earning capacity should not automatically absolve her husband of his obligation to provide maintenance. She also claimed that her husband’s income was about ₹1 lakh per month.
