In a recent judgment, the Allahabad High Court ruled that a wife who resides separately from her husband without sufficient cause is not entitled to maintenance under Section 125(4) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The decision came while setting aside a February 17, 2025, order passed by the additional principal judge of the family court in Meerut, which had directed the husband to pay ₹5,000 per month as maintenance to his estranged wife. The matter came before Justice Subhas Chandra Sharma through a criminal revision petition filed by the husband, Vipul Agrawal, who challenged the family court’s order on the grounds that the trial court itself had found that his wife had failed to establish any valid reason for living separately and yet had awarded maintenance in her favour.
The High Court took note of the family court’s findings, which had observed that the wife could not prove that she was residing apart from her husband due to his neglect or refusal to maintain her. Despite this, the family court had granted her maintenance, which the High Court found to be inconsistent with the legal framework laid down under Section 125(4) of the CrPC. This provision explicitly disqualifies a wife from claiming maintenance if she is living separately without just cause. Justice Sharma pointed out that the lower court’s reasoning was contradictory, as it accepted the absence of sufficient grounds for separation yet proceeded to award maintenance, thereby violating the statutory bar under the said provision.
During the proceedings, counsel for the husband argued that the trial court had overlooked the petitioner’s financial capacity and erroneously fixed ₹8,000 as monthly maintenance—₹5,000 for the wife and ₹3,000 for the minor child. In response, counsel for the wife and the state maintained that the woman had separated due to the husband’s neglect, which warranted the maintenance order. However, the High Court did not find merit in this contention in light of the trial court’s own factual findings.
The High Court, in its order dated July 8, remanded the matter to the family court for fresh adjudication, directing that both parties be granted a fair opportunity to present their case. In the interim, the husband has been ordered to pay ₹3,000 per month to the wife and ₹2,000 per month to the child until the matter is finally decided. This ruling reiterates the principle that a wife cannot claim maintenance as a matter of right unless she satisfies the statutory conditions under Section 125 of the CrPC, particularly when she chooses to live apart from her husband without sufficient justification.
