High Court Rejects Maintenance Plea Of Woman Earning More Than Husband

The Bombay High Court has refused to grant interim maintenance to a woman whose income is higher than that of her husband, citing his IT job could be at risk because of artificial intelligence.The woman, who lives in New Jersey in the United States, earns Rs 8 lakh per month ($8,700) - a salary higher than that of her husband.The court observed that a higher cost of living abroad cannot, by itself, be a ground to seek interim maintenance.A division bench of Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande dismissed the woman's plea seeking Rs 1 lakh per month as interim maintenance.The petitioner has been living in the US since 2011, and is employed with New Delhi-based IT Solutions Provider Company Mark Infotech.Her husband, too, works in the IT sector.The court observed that increasing competition in the IT industry and the growing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) could put the husband's job at risk.Earlier, a family court had also rejected her application for interim maintenance.However, it had directed the husband to pay Rs 25,000 towards litigation expenses.The elder child remains in the father's custody, while the younger child is in the mother's custody.The woman had approached the High Court challenging the family court's order.