MP High Court Orders Father To Pay Rs 46.26 Lakh For Daughters’ Higher Education, Calls It His Legal Duty

In Smt Savita v Deepak, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has ruled that a father is legally bound to bear the educational expenses of his daughters and cannot deny them opportunities for higher education when he has sufficient financial capacity. The Court directed a father to pay more than ₹46 lakh towards the education expenses incurred by his two daughters.

The decision came while hearing a revision petition filed by a mother and her daughters against a Family Court order that had granted maintenance of ₹6,000 per month to the wife and ₹3,000 each to the daughters under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The couple married in April 2000 and had two daughters. In 2018, the wife approached the court seeking enhanced maintenance. She claimed that her husband earned around ₹12 lakh per month and sought substantial financial support for herself and the daughters, including educational expenses.

The husband opposed the claim. He argued that the wife was already residing in a house constructed by him and alleged that he was facing financial difficulties. He stated that he had debts and had lost earning opportunities due to disputes between the parties. He also pointed out that divorce proceedings had been initiated because cohabitation had become impossible.

The Family Court assessed the husband’s income to be between ₹25,000 and ₹50,000 per month and awarded maintenance accordingly. Dissatisfied with the amount, the wife and daughters challenged the order before the High Court, arguing that the educational requirements of the daughters had not been properly considered.

Justice Gajendra Singh examined the records and found that both daughters were pursuing higher education. One daughter had secured admission to an MD programme after completing medical studies, while the other had been admitted to a B.Tech course at Manipal University.

The Court observed that the Family Court failed to adequately account for the substantial expenses associated with professional and higher education courses. Stressing the importance of equal educational opportunities for girls, the Court stated:

“Father is obliged to provide the education to daughter also. Woman empowerment does not remain on paper it requires implementation and the father is having sufficient income and cannot deprive the girl children from providing the educational expenses”.

The High Court held that educational support forms an essential part of a father’s responsibility towards his daughters. It noted that the principle of women’s empowerment must be reflected through concrete action and not remain a mere slogan.

Accordingly, the Court enhanced the maintenance-related educational support and directed the father to pay ₹46,26,200 towards the daughters’ educational expenses within four months. The amount includes ₹26,69,600 and ₹19,56,600 incurred for their respective studies.

The Court further clarified that if the payment is not made within the prescribed period, interest at the rate of 6% per annum will become payable. Any amount already paid by the father will be adjusted against the final liability.