Personal Loans and EMIs Do Not Override Maintenance Obligations: Delhi High Court
recently said that personal loans or EMIs were voluntary obligations.
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These cannot override the obligation of an earning spouse to maintain the other spouse or the child, it added.
A division bench of justices Navin Chawla and Renu Bhatnagar noted that deductions such as house rent, electricity charges, repayment of personal loans, premiums towards life insurance, or EMIs for voluntary borrowings do not qualify as legitimate deductions for the purpose of maintenance. The court stated, "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.
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The court was hearing an appeal filed by the husband challenging a family court order of April 19, which allowed the wife's application filed under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The husband was directed to pay a monthly payment of Rs 15,000 towards the maintenance of the wife and the child.
In his plea, the husband argued that the family court failed to consider the fact that he was consistently paying EMIs towards a property loan.
He also mentioned that he was paying for a mediclaim policy in which the wife and their child were also covered.
The bench rejected the husband's contention that EMIs and other loan obligations eroded his take-home income. It noted that the wife was suffering from a medical condition and was simultaneously responsible for the care and upbringing of the minor child born out of the wedlock.
"These are considered to be voluntary financial obligations undertaken by the earning spouse, which cannot override the primary obligation to maintain a dependent spouse or child," the bench said.
The bench emphasised that maintenance is not to be assessed based on the net income after such personal deductions, but rather on the free income that reflects the actual earning capacity and standard of living of the party concerned.
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