Wife Leading A Modern Life That's Immoral In Eyes Of Husband Not Sufficient Ground To Deny Maintenance: Madhya Pradesh High Court

The single-judge bench of Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia opined that as long as the wife is not committing any offense or indulging in any criminal activity while leading her modern life, mere differences between the spouses do not affect the matter of maintenance.

“Thus, this court cannot hold that if the wife is leading a modern life and if such an act of the wife is immoral in the eyes of her husband, then wife is wrong…If there are differences between the applicant and his wife on this issue, then this Court can only say that so long as respondent No.1 is not indulged in criminal activity, she is free to live her life as per own wishes whether orthodox or modern”, the bench sitting at Jabalpur observed.

The respondent-wife and son were awarded Rs 5000/- and Rs 3000/- respectively as monthly maintenance by JMFC, Amarpatan, District Satna, which was later affirmed by the Second Additional Sessions Judge, Satna in 2023. In the application under Section 482 CrPC before the High Court, the applicant-husband, who is also a lawyer, alleged that he belonged to a very orthodox family. However, his wife has been living a very modern life, as evidenced by her Facebook and social media posts, it was averred. The husband also submitted that he was willing to pay the maintenance amount ordered for his 1-year-old son. Be that as it may, in view of the lifestyle choices made by his wife, no maintenance may be granted to her, the applicant added.

Upon hearing the submissions of the applicant, the court repeatedly raised the query about the applicable provision on questions of morality and whether living a modern life amounts to immorality. The counsel replied that the law cannot exist in isolation from the concept of morality.

Relying on Nagarathinam v. State through the Inspector of Police (2023), the court iterated the principle that it is not an institution to sermonise the society on morality and ethics in the brooding presence of the rule of law.

The court also added that the amount of Rs 5000/- awarded as maintenance is not on the higher side considering the cost of living and cost of goods. Therefore, it will be open for the respondent-wife to seek an enhancement of the maintenance in separate proceedings, the court added.

CaseTitle: Sukhendra Chatuvedi v. Neha & Anr .

Case No: Miscellaneous Criminal Case No. 54170 Of 2023

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (MP) 80

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