A Delhi court denied a woman’s application for monthly maintenance under the Domestic Violence Act, reasoning that she was qualified to find employment and not providing maintenance would prevent idleness and dependency on the husband. The court also said she failed to prove that she was unable to maintain the same standard of living as she had previously enjoyed in the matrimonial house, and both the complainant and her husband were capable of finding employment.

A court in Delhi has rejected a wife’s application for interim monetary relief under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, saying she was highly qualified and capable of finding a source of income and allowing her maintenance would promote idleness and dependency on the husband. The Metropolitan Magistrate Swayam Siddha Tripathy was hearing an application filed by the wife under the act seeking interim maintenance of Rs 50,000 per month. The court said the wife had to show her inability to sustain, survive, and manage even the basic necessities, besides establishing that the husband was earning and having a better lifestyle, while the wife was left fending for herself. The court also noted that the husband, a qualified doctor, was presently unemployed and said he was not living a luxurious life.