Supreme Court observed that a husband cannot evade from his duty to maintain his ex-wife after divorce, on the ground that she is educated or has parental support.

The Supreme Court observed that a husband cannot evade from his duty to maintain his ex-wife after divorce, on the ground that she is educated or has parental support.

“Marriage, as an institution in our society, is founded on emotional bonding, companionship, and mutual support, which cannot be evaluated in purely monetary terms. A woman often enters matrimony with legitimate aspirations of a stable and dignified life

When such a marriage breaks down, the obligation of the husband to ensure that the wife is able to live with dignity does not come to an end merely on the ground that she is educated or has parental support. Post-divorce, the wife is entitled to live a life consistent with the standard of living she was accustomed to during the subsistence of the marriage.”, observed a bench of Justices SVN Bhatti and R Mahadevan, while allowing the wife’s plea against the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s order which refused to entertain her plea against the quantum of maintenance amounting to Rs. 15,000/- per month decided by the Family Court.