The Delhi High Court directs Omar Abdullah, the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir to pay Rs.1.5 lakhs per month as maintenance.

Payal Abdullah the estranged wife of Omar Abdullah, the former Chief Minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir filed a Maintenance Petition before the Family Court which passed the impugned order dated 26.04.2018, against which the Petitioner and her two sons field a revision petition before the High Court of Delhi.

The High Court of Delhi while granting a partial relief to the Petitioners, Payal Abdullah, Zahir Abdullah and Zamir Abdullah observed as under:

In the instant case, a bare perusal of the record indicates that the Respondent is a man of means, and has access to financial privilege that evades the common man. While it is understandable that being a politician, revealing all information pertaining to financial assets might be dangerous, however, there is no iota of doubt that the Respondent does have the resources to provide for his wife and children.

The Court further observed that:

"The principle underlying Section 125 Cr.P.C. is that it is in furtherance of social justice and has been enacted to ensure that women and children remain protected from a life of destitution and potential vagrancy. The object of maintenance proceedings is not to punish a person for his past neglect, but to prevent vagrancy by compelling those who can provide support to those who are unable to support themselves and who have a moral claim for support."

"This Court finds weight in the submission of the learned Counsel for the Petitioners that the language of Section 125 Cr.P.C. was not meant to oust the duty of the father to provide for his son. Keeping in mind the purpose and intent of the provision in question, along with the growing importance of obtaining higher undergraduate education for the purpose of securing employment, the father is legally and morally bound to ensure that his children, even if it is a major son. The Court also is inclined to agree with the argument of the learned Counsel for the Petitioners that the wife and the children must not be put in a position where they are deprived of the lifestyle and the comfort that they previously enjoyed. Even if the wife has sufficient financial means to sustain herself, the husband cannot wash his hands off the responsibilities that are bestowed upon him when it comes to the upbringing of his children."

"This Court is of the view that in light of the financial capacity of the Respondent to provide a decent standard of living to his wife and children commensurate with his income and the standard of living that the Petitioners enjoyed previously, there is no reason that the maintenance amount awarded to Payal Abdullah should not be enhanced to that extent. Accordingly, this Court observes that there is limited merit in the instant petition and directs the interim maintenance amount to be increased from Rs. 75,000/- per month to Rs. 1,50,000/- per month for the Petitioner."

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