NEW DELHI: The Madhya Pradesh High Court has enhanced the monthly maintenance awarded to a woman who was married as a child from ₹2,000 to ₹6,000, observing that she had been victimised first by child marriage and then by an inadequate maintenance order.
Justice Gajendra Singh of the Indore Bench passed the order while hearing a revision petition filed by Ranu, directing that the enhanced maintenance be paid retrospectively from August 7, 2021, the date on which she originally filed her application.
Background of the Dispute
Ranu had approached the family court in 2021, alleging cruelty and neglect by her husband, Himanshu.
She sought monthly maintenance of ₹10,000 along with an additional ₹2,000 towards accommodation expenses.
According to court records, the couple married on April 27, 2015. During the proceedings, the husband himself stated that Ranu was only 13 years old at the time of marriage, while he was 18.
The family court later awarded her maintenance of ₹2,000 per month, effective from April 19, 2023—the date of its order—rather than from the date she filed her application. Dissatisfied with the quantum and commencement date of the maintenance, Ranu challenged the order before the High Court.
Husband’s Defence
Before the lower court, the husband argued that the marriage had never been consummated and denied allegations of cruelty. He also contended that all of the wife’s stridhan remained in her possession and claimed that she was unwilling to continue the marital relationship.
Court Says Woman Was Victimised Twice
The High Court observed that even if the husband’s version was accepted as true, it only reinforced the fact that Ranu was a victim of child marriage.
Justice Singh remarked that awarding such a small amount of maintenance effectively subjected her to a second injustice.
“If the defence of the respondent-husband is taken at its face value, then it emerges that the revision petitioner was a victim of child marriage and thereafter, in the garb of customs, she again is being victimised by providing only a meagre amount of maintenance. It is a sad picture of the rights of girls. She cannot be denied a reasonable amount of maintenance,” the court observed.
₹2,000 Monthly Maintenance Found Inadequate
The court held that the amount awarded by the family court was insufficient and could not be justified in the prevailing circumstances.
“The amount of ₹2,000 per month cannot be justified and hence, it requires enhancement,” the court stated.
Consequently, the High Court increased the maintenance amount to ₹6,000 per month and directed that it be paid from the date of the original application, ensuring that the petitioner receives arrears for the intervening period.
Parents Also Bear Responsibility, Court Says
Addressing the issue of financial hardship that the husband might face due to the enhanced maintenance order, the court observed that responsibility for the situation did not rest solely with him.
The judge noted that the parents and family members who facilitated and permitted the child marriage could not escape accountability.
“Parents who are instrumental in solemnising such marriage cannot escape from the liability. If the husband feels hardship, then he has to take help of those parents who were instrumental in performing the child marriage,” the court said.
The ruling highlights the judiciary’s growing emphasis on protecting the rights of women affected by child marriage and ensuring that maintenance awards are sufficient to provide meaningful support rather than merely symbolic relief.
