In a sharp reversal of a lower court’s order, the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has made it clear—financial support from parents isn’t an automatic right for adult, able-bodied daughters.
The case traces back to 2014 when two unmarried daughters, alongside their brother, approached a trial court seeking maintenance from their father, a senior citizen. While the son’s request was dismissed, the daughters were granted ₹1,200 each per month in 2019.
But the story didn’t end there.
Their father, who had also filed for maintenance from his son—and successfully won ₹2,000 monthly in 2017—challenged the Magistrate’s order that had directed him to support his adult daughters.
Justice Rahul Bharti, presiding over the matter, pulled no punches. He ruled that Section 488 of the Jammu & Kashmir Code of Criminal Procedure, meant to safeguard dependent wives and children, couldn’t be stretched to include independent, physically and mentally capable daughters who are legally adults.
“By no stretch of claim or reasoning” could the daughters demand maintenance under this provision, the court observed.
Striking down the earlier order, Justice Bharti underscored that the trial court had overlooked a key point—the daughters were not dependent in the eyes of the law. And with that, the maintenance directive was tossed out.
The petition stood allowed, and the father’s obligation ended where the statute said it should.
