Maintenance Amount Awarded By Family Court Must Be Realistic & Reasonable; Order Should Be Clear & Reasoned: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court observed that maintenance amount awarded by the Family Court must be realistic and reasonable and that the order passer by such Courts must be clear and well reasoned- indicative of the facts, controversy and reasoning of it’s conclusion. Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Jasmeet Singh also observed that the objective of granting interim or permanent maintenance to a spouse is to ensure that they are not reduced to financial constraints due to the failure of their marriage. The Court was dealing with an appeal filed by a wife challenging a Family Court order by way of which her application under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 was decided. The Family Court had granted maintenance of Rs. 30,000 per month to the appellant wife and Rs. 15,000 per month each in respect of the two minor children, aged 8 years and 12 years respectively. The defendant-husband’s income was stated to be Rs. 4,00,000/- per month.