Unmarried adult daughter unable to support herself entitled to maintenance from father, rules Nagpur bench
The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has held that an unmarried adult daughter who cannot maintain herself cannot be denied maintenance from her father.
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The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has ruled that an unmarried adult daughter who is unable to maintain herself cannot be denied maintenance from her father. The court made it clear that her right cannot be set aside merely because she has become an adult, or because she has other legal options for obtaining maintenance.
Justice Mehroz Pathan dismissed a criminal revision petition filed by teacher Anand Chauhan. He had challenged an order passed by the family court in Nagpur on December 7, 2019, under which he must pay Rs 7,000 each to his son and daughter as maintenance. The High Court upheld the order.
Chauhan is a teacher who earns Rs 71,000 a month. His wife is also a teacher and draws a monthly salary of Rs 40,000. As she earns for herself, the family court had refused her maintenance, but it had ordered Rs 7,000 each for the upkeep of the two children.
On behalf of the father, it was argued that the daughter is an adult and unmarried, so she cannot receive maintenance under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. He also said the daughter should file a separate application under Section 20(3) of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956. The father further contended that the son too had become an adult while the petition was pending, and so could not be given maintenance.
The court, however, noted that the father had failed to prove that the daughter could maintain herself. It therefore held that her maintenance could not be denied on the ground that she has become an adult or that another legal route to maintenance is available.
On the son, the court said he was a minor when the maintenance order was passed but has now become an adult. If his maintenance needs to be altered, a separate application can be made before the appropriate court under Section 127 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, it clarified.
The ruling reiterates that an unmarried adult daughter who cannot earn for herself has a right to maintenance from her father. The maintenance of Rs 7,000 each fixed by the family court will now stand.
