'Educated, capable of earning': Allahabad HC rejects maintenance plea of wife who left husband without reason

The Allahabad High Court has rejected a wife’s plea for maintenance from her husband, observing that she was well-educated and capable of earning a livelihood. The court upheld the lower court’s decision, which found that the wife had left her matrimonial home voluntarily and had refused to return despite her husband’s efforts to bring her back.

The high court observed that the primary objective of Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) is to prevent vagrancy and destitution. However, it noted that the wife’s educational qualifications and ability to earn were relevant to determining whether she was unable to maintain herself.

The couple married according to Hindu rituals on April 16, 2022. After staying at her matrimonial home for a few days, the wife left for her parental home with her uncle on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. She did not return thereafter.

Subsequently, she filed a maintenance petition under Section 125 CrPC, alleging that she had faced cruelty over dowry demands and had been forced to leave her matrimonial home.

She further alleged that her husband had sufficient financial resources but had neglected and refused to maintain her.

Wife says she is unemployed, husband earns ₹1.5 lakh a month

Appearing for the wife, her counsel told the high court that although she was educated, she was unemployed and financially dependent. He also submitted that her husband was a software engineer earning approximately ₹1.5 lakh per month.