NEW DELHI: A father’s obligation doesn’t end on son turning 18 years as the entire burden of his education and other expenses cannot fall only on the mother, Delhi high court has said.
It granted Rs 15,000 interim maintenance to a divorced woman for her adult son till he completes graduation or starts earning, saying the court cannot shut its eyes to the rising cost of living.
The court said it was unreasonable to expect that the mother alone would bear the entire burden for the son with the small amount of maintenance given by her estranged husband for the maintenance of their daughter.
The court was hearing a woman’s plea challenging a 2018 trial court order declining maintenance to her and granting it only to their two children, who are living with her.
“The woman has to take care of the entire expenditure of the son who has now attained majority but is not earning because he is still studying.
The family court, therefore, failed to appreciate the fact that, since no contribution is being made by the respondent (man) towards the son, the salary earned by the woman would not be sufficient to maintain herself,” Justice Subramonium Prasad said.
The couple got married in November 1997 and had two children.
They got divorced in November 2011 and the son and daughter are 20 and 18, respectively.
The Family Court said the son was entitled to maintenance till he turned an adult, while the daughter would be entitled to maintenance till she gets employment or gets married, whichever is earlier.
The court noted that, “The two children are living with the mother.
Since the purpose of granting interim maintenance is to ensure the wife and the children are not put to starvation, the courts while fixing interim maintenance are not expected to dwell into minute and excruciating details and facts which have to be proved by the parties.” It said this court could not shut its eyes to the fact that the man, who got remarried and has a child from the second marriage, has to maintain that child also and the reduction of the amount for maintenance by the family court could not be found fault with.