Wife can seek maintenance for adult offsprings,rules HC

The ruling was delivered on August 26 on an appeal filed by Vijaykumar Chawla,a businessman,against a family court order which directed him to pay Rs 40,000 per month to his daughter,Shraddha,who was staying with her mother and undergoing a pilot’s training course.

Shraddha had obtained a loan for the course and was obliged to pay Rs 40,000 EMI towards the same. The court ordered the appellant to deduct Rs eight lakh already paid to his daughter for education expenses and pay the remaining amount of loan taken by her to pursue her career.

According to provisions of Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act,a child can claim maintenance from the father or mother as long as it is minor. However,section 20(3) is an exception which obligates a person to maintain his or her daughter who is unmarried and unable to maintain herself out of her earnings or property,the bench ruled.

“In the present case,it is not in dispute that Shraddha is residing with her mother. She is unmarried. Her mother has no own earnings or other property except the income by way of the meagre salary earned by her. She is thus not in a position to take the burden of education expenditure of her daughter which is quite substantial for undergoing the professional course,” the bench observed.

The judges referred to Section 21 of Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act which defines the term ‘Dependants’. Clause (V) of this section encompasses unmarried daughter as a Dependant.

“Therefore,there can be no doubt that an unmarried daughter is entitled to get maintenance amount from her father or mother,as the case may be,so long as she is unable to maintain herself out of her own earnings or other property.”

“For that reason,Shraddha is entitled to maintenance amount and education expenses from her father (appellant). He will be bound to not only maintain his unmarried daughter but is also responsible for her education including higher education until her marriage,” they held.

The appellant and respondent got married on November 12,1986. The couple have two children Shraddha and Siddhesh. They started staying separately due to their differences after 1999.