The Allahabad High Court has ruled that a wife cannot claim maintenance from her husband if her actions or omissions contribute to his inability to earn.
The court dismissed a revision petition filed by a woman seeking maintenance from her husband, Ved Prakash Singh, a homoeopathic doctor.
Singh was allegedly shot at by his brother-in-law and father-in-law during an altercation at his clinic, which left him incapable of working.
Upholding the decision of a family court in Kushinagar, which had rejected the wife’s maintenance application, Justice Lakshmi Kant Shukla said, "While Indian society generally expects a husband to work and maintain his family, this case presented unique circumstances."
"Though it is the pious obligation of a husband to maintain his wife, no such explicit legal duty has been cast upon the wife by any court of law," the court noted.
Singh continues to live with a pellet lodged in his spinal cord. Doctors have warned that surgery to remove it carries a high risk of paralysis, leaving him unable to sit comfortably or maintain employment.
The family court had rejected the wife’s application for interim maintenance on May 7, 2025.
The high court agreed with this decision, saying, "In the facts of the present case, it prima facie appears that the conduct of the wife and her family members has rendered the opposite party incapable of earning his livelihood."
"If a wife by her own acts or omissions causes or contributes to the incapacity of her husband to earn, she cannot be permitted to take advantage of such a situation and claim maintenance," the judgment added.
"Granting maintenance in such circumstances would result in grave injustice to the husband, and the court cannot shut its eyes from the reality emerging from the record," Justice Shukla concluded.