High Court overturns Mysuru Court’s order; says wife earning more than husband cannot claim maintenance 

Bengaluru:  Karnataka High Court has  set aside the order of a lower Court in Mysuru, to pay for maintenance to a woman by her husband. 

Justice Dr. Chillakur Sumalatha passed the order on Monday, allowing a petition filed by the 37-year-old husband from Gonikoppa, challenging an order dated Dec 19, 2025, passed by a trial court in Mysuru. The Court had directed him to pay Rs. 20,000 interim maintenance per month to the wife on the interlocutory application filed by her in a domestic violence dispute. 

The Judge observed that “When a woman is financially sound, her income is more than that of her husband and she has no other liabilities, like looking after children, Courts should not be inclined to pass an order straightaway granting maintenance on the ground that a wife is required to be maintained by her husband.” 

The Court should bear in mind that they have to award maintenance, either interim or final, only when the wife has no financial sources to maintain herself. 

The income of the wife is more than that of the husband. With her admitted income of Rs 1 lakh per month, she can maintain herself. Therefore, there is no requirement for the trial court to order the husband to pay a sum of Rs 20,000 per month out of his earnings of Rs 60,646 per month. Hence, this Court is of the view that the order under challenge is unsustainable in the eye of law. Hence, the order of the trial court is set aside,” the court said. 

Only because a woman, more particularly a wife, files a petition invoking the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act or the provisions of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act or the provisions contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, where the right to claim maintenance is recognised, the Courts cannot straight away pass an order awarding some amount towards maintenance, HC Justice added.