Wife can't claim maintenance if her action contributes to husband's incapacity to earn: HC
Prayagraj (PTI): If a wife's actions or omissions contribute to her husband's incapacity to earn, she cannot claim maintenance from him, the Allahabad High Court has held.
The court dismissed a revision petition of a woman seeking maintenance from her husband, a homoeopathic doctor, who was allegedly shot at by his brother-in-law and father-in-law during an altercation at his clinic.
Upholding the decision of a family court in Kushinagar, which rejected the maintenance application of the wife, Justice Lakshmi Kant Shukla observed that granting maintenance in such a scenario would result in grave injustice, particularly when the man's earning capacity was destroyed by the criminal acts of the wife's family.
Ved Prakash Singh was allegedly shot at by his wife's brother and father during an altercation at his clinic, rendering him incapable of earning or providing maintenance to her.
The high court noted that a pellet remains lodged in the husband's spinal cord and a surgery to remove it carries a high risk of paralysis, leaving him unable to sit comfortably or maintain employment.
The family court on May 7, 2025, rejected the wife's application for interim maintenance. The high court upheld this decision, noting that the man's physical incapacity was undisputed and directly caused by the wife's side of the family.
"While Indian society generally expects a husband to work and maintain his family, this case presented unique circumstances," the court of Justice Shukla observed.
"It is well settled that though it is the pious obligation of a husband to maintain his wife, no such explicit legal duty has been cast upon the wife by any court of law."
In the facts of the present case, it prima facie appears that the conduct of the wife and her family members has rendered the opposite party incapable of earning his livelihood, the court said.
"If a wife by her own acts or omissions causes or contributes to the incapacity of her husband to earn, she cannot be permitted to take advantage of such a situation and claim maintenance.
"Granting maintenance in such circumstances would result in grave injustice to the husband, and the court cannot shut its eyes from the reality emerging from the record," it added.
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Fired from family business, nephew breaks into uncle's shops in Delhi; arrested
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Police has arrested a 22-year-old man who allegedly stole cash, a laptop and a mobile phone from his uncle's shop in Dwarka to take revenge after he was fired from the family business, officials said on Wednesday.
Piyush Tulswani, the accused, completed his Class 11 from Rajasthan's Pilani, after which he came back to live with his family, a senior police officer said.
His father, Kishan Tulswani, used to work as a sales manager at his uncle Jeetu's confectionery shops. After the death of his father, Piyush took up his position, the officer said.
Soon, Piyush started embezzling money from the shops, and was fired after Jeetu took note of the act, police said.
His mother also reprimanded him for embezzling money, after which Piyush left home and started living with his friend, the officer said.
Piyush hatched a plot to steal money from his uncle’s shops, which he knew well. Acting on his plan, he took his brother's scooter and broke open each shop, stealing cash, a laptop and a mobile phone.
On January 31, Jeetu reported the matter to police, accusing Piyush of committing burglaries at his shops located in Sector-18, Sector-11, Sector-12 and Sector-4, Dwarka, the officer said.
Jeetu also provided CCTV camera footage from the shops, in which Piyush could be seen breaking them open, he said.
Tracing his mobile phone locations to Safdarjang, Hauz Khas, Rajapuri and Dabri, police conducted several raids.
“He later switched off his phone to restrict access to his location,” the officer said.
On February 13, police received information that Piyush would come to the fruit mandi in Dabri around 9.30 am. Accordingly, a trap was laid, leading to the arrest of the accused, he said.
Initially, he did not confess to the crime, but when police showed him the CCTV clips, he admitted to committing the burglaries, the officer said.
