Man cannot ‘wriggle out’ of maintenance duty by citing personal loans, rules Delhi High Court

Voluntary financial obligations like personal loans or EMIs cannot be used by a man as an excuse to evade maintenance payments to his wife and child, the Delhi High Court has ruled, as reported by The Hindustan Times.

The observation was made on May 26 while hearing a petition from a man challenging a city court’s April 19, 2025 order, which directed him to pay interim maintenance of ₹15,000 — ₹8,000 to his estranged wife and ₹7,000 to their minor son, according to the report by HT.

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“A person cannot wriggle out of his/her statutory liability to maintain his/her spouse and dependents by artificially reducing his/her disposable income through personal borrowings or long-term financial commitments undertaken unilaterally,” the bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Renu Bhatnagar observed in its verdict released on Saturday.

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The order further stated, “Deductions such as house rent, electricity charges, repayment of personal loans, premiums for life insurance, or EMIs for voluntary borrowings do not qualify as legitimate deductions in this context. These are deemed voluntary financial obligations assumed by the earning spouse and cannot take precedence over the fundamental duty to support a dependent spouse or child.”

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The couple married in February 2009 and had a child, but began living separately in March 2020. Following the separation, the wife approached the court seeking ₹30,000 per month as interim maintenance.