The Delhi High Court has ruled that a spouse cannot receive interim maintenance for a period during which she was employed and earning, modifying a Family Court award accordingly.
The wife had sought maintenance from January 2021 and continued working until June 2024. The High Court therefore limited the ₹5,000 monthly payment to the period beginning 1 July 2024, when she became unemployed. It nevertheless upheld the assessment of the husband’s monthly income at ₹22,000. His father’s salary certificate stating a lower income was unsupported by independent records, while the applicable Haryana minimum wages were broadly comparable to Delhi’s.
The decision shows that interim maintenance remains responsive to changing financial circumstances rather than operating as an automatic entitlement from the application date. Actual earning capacity matters on both sides, but unsupported claims of reduced income will not displace a reasoned assessment.
