New Delhi, April 20: The Supreme Court has reduced a divorced woman's monthly maintenance after her former husband, who has since remarried and has a son born through his second wife, moved the court saying the amount of Rs 23,000 was on the higher side.

Justices R. Banumathi and M. Shantanagoudar reduced the amount to Rs 20,000.

"The amount of permanent alimony awarded to the wife must be befitting the status of the parties and the capacity of the spouse to pay maintenance. Maintenance is always dependent on the factual situation of the case and the court would be justified in moulding the claim for maintenance passed on various factors," Justice Banumathi, writing the recent judgment, said.

Rita Dey Chowdhury, nee Nandy, who is from Serampore in Bengal, had been awarded Rs 16,000 a month as maintenance by a matrimonial court. Calcutta High Court had enhanced the amount to Rs 23,000 following a plea from Nandy.

In his petition before the top court, her former husband, Kalyan Dey Chowdhury, who works at Malda Medical College, said his ex-wife was a qualified beautician and Montessori teacher and earned Rs 30,000 a month, and their son, who stays with Nandy, had attained 18 years of age. So the enhanced maintenance amount awarded by the high court, he said, was on the higher side.

Chowdhury also pleaded that the original order of Rs 16,000 per month should be restored.

The top court did not find fault with the high court's award as it was in tune with the apex court ruling in the Kulbhushan Kumar versus Raj Kumari case of 1970 where it was held that 25 per cent of the husband's salary could generally be awarded to the dependent estranged spouse and her children.

In this case, however, the bench felt that the husband had remarried and also had a son through his second wife, which meant an additional financial responsibility.

"Since in February 2016 the net salary of the husband was Rs 95,000 per month, the high court was justified in enhancing the maintenance amount. However, since the appellant has also got married (for the) second time and has a child from the second marriage, in the interest of justice, we think it proper to reduce the amount of maintenance of Rs 23,000 to Rs 20,000 per month," Justice Banumathi said.