Man must pay maintenance to stepson he accepted as family: Uttarakhand High Court

The Uttarakhand High Court has ruled that a man must pay monthly maintenance of Rs 10,000 to his wife's son from her previous marriage, rejecting his claim that he is not biologically related to the child. The court noted that the man knowingly married the woman in 2013, accepting the child as part of the matrimonial household, and therefore cannot escape his responsibility for the child's maintenance.

The court emphasized that the settlement between the woman and her ex-husband, if any, cannot absolve the man of his voluntary responsibility. The court also rejected the argument that the woman's independent income of around Rs 55,000 to Rs 58,000 per month should relieve her of her obligation to maintain the child. The man's net salary after taxes was reported as Rs 1.06 lakh, while the child's maintenance has been increased to Rs 30,000 per month until the child reaches adulthood.