Wife’s earning capacity not ‘actual’ income, says Delhi High Court in maintenance case

5 min readNew DelhiJul 31, 2026 02:00 PM IST The Delhi High Court clarified that merely directing a wife to make genuine efforts to find a job does not automatically disqualify her from receiving maintenance. (AI-generated image)The Delhi High Court has upheld an interim maintenance award of Rs 1 lakh per month to a woman for the period when her estranged husband, an Air India employee, was earning a substantial salary, observing that a professionally qualified wife’s ability to earn cannot be treated as proof that she is actually earning. Refusing to increase the maintenance, Justice Madhu Jain clarified that merely directing a wife to make genuine efforts to find a job does not automatically disqualify her from receiving maintenance. However, the court held that after the husband’s servi