Sacrosanct for man to maintain wife, children even by physical labour: SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said a man is required to earn money, even by physical labour, to pay maintenance to his wife and children as it is his sacrosanct duty to provide financial support to the woman and the minor children.

"The husband is required to earn money even by physical labour, if he is an able-bodied, and could not avoid his obligation, except on the legally permissible grounds mentioned in the statute," a bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Bela M Trivedi said.

Also Read | SC to consider if public functionaries should face greater restrictions on freedom of speech

The court also pointed out Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code is a measure of social justice and is specially enacted to protect women and children.

The provision also falls within the Constitutional sweep of Article 15(3), reinforced by Article 39 of the Constitution, it added.

The court here allowed a plea by a woman against the Faridabad's Family court order, upheld by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

It rejected the man's contention that he had a small business, which was closed, so he had no source of income. It directed the man to pay Rs 10,000 to the wife over and above Rs 6,000 to the son.

The man here led by advocate Dushyant Parashar questioned the chastity of wife, claiming the boy, claimed to be born out of wedlock, was not his biological son.

Also Read | SC to hear 300 old cases from October 11, with oldest among them filed in 1979

The family court though rejected his plea for DNA test but disallowed the woman's plea for maintenance and the daughter, though it directed for paying Rs 6,000 monthly to the son.

"The Family Court had not only over-looked and disregarded the settled legal position...it misdirected itself. Such an erroneous and perverse order was unfortunately confirmed by the High Court by passing a very perfunctory order," the bench said.