A healthy man is obliged to provide through legal means, even by physical labour, for his wife and minor children, the Supreme Court has said in a judgment.
A Bench led by Justice Dinesh Maheshwari said it was a basic canon of law “that it is the sacrosanct duty of the husband to provide financial support to the wife and to the minor children. The husband is required to earn money even by physical labour… If he is able-bodied, he cannot avoid his obligation, except on the legally permissible grounds”.
The judgment was based on an appeal filed by a woman who failed to win her case for maintenance from her estranged husband, represented by advocate Dushyant Parashar, in the Family Court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
