Highly Qualified but Unemployed Wife Still Entitled to Maintenance: Kerala HC Grants Rs 6000 Maintenance

The Kerala High Court has held that an unemployed woman is entitled to claim maintenance from her husband even if she is highly qualified. Justice Kauser Edappagath said that a woman cannot be denied financial support merely because she has the potential to earn. She remains eligible for maintenance until she is able to support herself.

The Court was hearing a case where a family court had ordered a man to pay monthly maintenance to his wife and minor daughter. While the husband argued that his wife was educated with B.Ed and MA degrees and could earn her own livelihood, the High Court noted that she was not actually earning at present. Therefore, she fell under the category of a wife “unable to maintain herself” under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

The judge highlighted that Section 125 (now Section 144 of BNSS) is a social justice provision meant to protect destitute wives and dependent children. The husband’s responsibility depends on his actual financial capacity and the wife’s present ability to sustain herself, not her theoretical earning potential.

The Court also clarified that a wife who lives separately for a valid reason is still entitled to claim maintenance. In this case, the wife had left the matrimonial home due to issues arising after the husband’s brother and sister-in-law moved in. The Court found her decision reasonable.

Justice Edappagath also declined to follow a recent Delhi High Court view that an educated but unemployed wife cannot claim maintenance. He said such an approach goes against the purpose of Section 125 CrPC, which aims to prevent hardship and ensure dignity.

Since the husband earned around ₹66,900 per month and had sufficient financial means, the High Court upheld the family court’s order directing him to pay ₹6,000 per month to his wife and ₹4,500 per month to his daughter.