Husband's income Rs 11k, wife's maintenance Rs 25k

The Delhi High Court has upheld a family court order directing a husband to pay his wife and minor son Rs 25,000 monthly in maintenance, with a 5% annual increase, citing inflation and rising cost of living. The husband, who claims to earn Rs 11,000 per month after completing a Hospitality Management course from Edinburgh, Scotland, has challenged the order, arguing that the court erred in assessing his income and earning capacity, and that he did not receive the maintenance as alleged.

The wife claimed that she suffered cruelty and dowry demands from her husband and his family, leading to her leaving the matrimonial home. Despite the husband's claims, the Delhi HC found that the wife's evidence regarding her financial dependence, the child's educational expenses, and the husband's financial position had not been sufficiently rebutted.

The court dismissed the husband's claim that his earning capacity was limited to Rs 11,000 per month, as he could not provide cogent material to support his assertion. The Delhi HC upheld the family court's decision, finding that the maintenance order was justified in protecting the wife and child from the erosion of the real value of a fixed maintenance amount due to inflation and rising cost of living.