"Let Her Earn": Karnataka High Court After Woman Seeks ₹6 Lakh Monthly Maintenance From Ex-Husband

The Karnataka High Court recently refused to entertain a woman's request seeking maintenance of over ₹6 lakh per month from her estranged husband. The court reportedly observed that if she really wanted to spend so much on herself, she should earn a living on her own.

“She wants ₹6,16,300 as expenses? Per month? She will not be given maintenance based just on what her husband is earning. What is her requirement?" Justice Lalitha Kanneganti asked during a hearing on August 21, as quoted by Bar and Bench. "She spends this much per month...a single lady on herself? If she wants to spend, let her earn," the judge observed.

The judge also cautioned the woman against “exploiting the process of the court." The Karnataka High Court made the statement while hearing a petition filed by a woman seeking enhancement of maintenance granted to her by a lower court. The lower court had earlier granted her a monthly maintenance of ₹50,000.

Advocate Akarsh Kanade, her counsel, told the Court that the petitioner's expenses towards food amounted to ₹40,000 per month. The counsel also added that the woman required ₹50,000 towards clothing and accessories and another ₹60,000 towards cosmetics and medical expenses. Justice Lalitha Kanneganti reportedly said that the court was not a marketplace where litigants can come to bargain. "All these expenses on the face of it, this Court can’t appreciate that it can be the monthly expense of a person who doesn’t need to take care of children, other liabilities but merely personal expenses," the court added, as quoted by Bar and Bench.