Karnataka HC Cuts Tailor Husband’s Maintenance Payment To Wife From ₹12,000 To ₹10,000, Estimating ₹750–₹1,000 Daily Earnings

The wife sought maintenance of ₹25,000 per month under Section 125 Cr.P.C.

The Family Court partly allowed her application and awarded ₹12,000 per month until her lifetime or remarriage.

The husband challenged that award under Section 19(4) of the Family Courts Act, contending that the wife was employed and had independent income, while his tailoring income was meagre and he had to support his parents.

The wife denied having a source of income and relied on evidence that the husband had pledged her jewellery; the record also showed land in his name and that he lived in a house belonging exclusively to her.

The wife’s maintenance claim arose under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the husband invoked the High Court’s revisional jurisdiction under Section 19(4) of the Family Courts Act.

The Court assessed the parties’ evidence and circumstances, including the wife’s alleged income, the husband’s occupation and earning capacity, and his claimed responsibility to support his parents, to determine a reasonable monthly maintenance amount.

The judgment cites no precedent or further statutory test.

The husband produced no substantive evidence that the wife was earning ₹30,000 per month, running a computer institute, or had worked as a beautician.

The Court noted evidence that the husband had pledged the wife’s jewellery, that land stood in his name, and that he was living in her exclusively owned house.

Although the wife had not established the husband’s precise earnings, he admitted that he worked as a tailor; the Court considered that occupation capable of yielding at least ₹750–₹1,000 per day.

Weighing that earning capacity and his stated responsibility to maintain his parents, the Court found ₹12,000 excessive but considered ₹10,000 per month appropriate.

The Family Court’s order was modified, reducing maintenance from ₹12,000 to ₹10,000 per month, payable from the date the wife filed Crl. Misc. No. 74/2022 until her lifetime, remarriage, or further modification by a competent court.

The Family Court’s annual enhancement direction remained in force.