A man living in Bihar is paying the home loans on two houses in Mumbai, and the Bombay High Court has decided his wife should carry part of the load. A single bench of Justice MM Sathaye cut his monthly maintenance for his wife and minor son from ₹50,000 to ₹25,000. The order came last week.
It set aside a Family Court order of January 2025 that had fixed the higher figure.
The two properties are in Andheri, where the wife and son live, and Panvel in Navi Mumbai. The husband pays the EMIs on both. The court noted that his wife, who is also earning, pays nothing toward the loans on either.
Why the husband asked for a cut
In his petition, the man said he lost his job during the COVID-19 pandemic and now earns a much lower salary. He told the court he was struggling with expenses. He had also asked his wife to move to Bihar with him, or to shift into the Panvel house so he could sell the Andheri flat and ease his debt. She declined.
The bench found nothing wrong with the request. It said that if the wife preferred the convenience of a premium locality like Andheri but did not contribute to the home loan EMI, the husband could not be stopped from citing that when seeking a reduction. The court also accepted that the pandemic had hurt the careers and businesses of many people, and that the fall in his income was genuine.
What the court said about equality
“The principle of equality cannot be invoked selectively,” the court observed. Where both spouses earn, it said, the costs of running the household and of the child’s education should be shared. If a certain lifestyle is to be kept up, both must contribute to it.
Pune Pulse carried a disclaimer with its report: the observations rest on the facts of this case, and maintenance disputes are decided individually, so the ruling does not automatically apply to other matrimonial cases.
Sources
- 'Husband & wife must share household, child expenses': Bombay HC halves monthly maintenance to ₹25,000 as husband pays 2 EMIs
- Bombay HC Says Working Couples Must Share Household, Child Expenses; Cuts Maintenance To ₹25,000 – PUNE PULSE
