One of the most common questions in maintenance litigation is also one of the most misunderstood: if the wife has a job, can she still claim maintenance? The answer under Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (formerly Section 125 CrPC), Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act and the Domestic Violence Act is that employment by itself is not a disqualification. What matters is whether her earnings are sufficient to maintain the standard of living she enjoyed in the matrimonial home. This article explains how that test works in Delhi courts.
The statutory language matters
Section 144(1) BNSS entitles a wife who is "unable to maintain herself" to claim maintenance from a husband who has sufficient means and neglects or refuses to maintain her. The phrase is not "unemployed" and it is not "destitute". Courts have long held that the inability contemplated is the inability to maintain herself at a level consistent with the status of the parties — the life she was accustomed to in the marriage — not bare survival.
The same idea runs through Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, which speaks of a spouse having no "independent income sufficient for her or his support", and through monetary relief under Section 20 of the DV Act, which expressly aims at relief "adequate, fair and reasonable and consistent with the standard of living to which the aggrieved person is accustomed".
The comparison courts actually make
Earning capacity versus actual earning
Husbands frequently argue that a qualified wife "can work" and therefore deserves nothing. Courts treat capacity and actuality differently. A postgraduate who has been out of the workforce for a decade raising children is not notionally credited with a corporate salary. Conversely, a spouse shown to have resigned from equivalent employment on the eve of litigation, without explanation, may have income attributed. The inquiry is fact-driven: the age of children, the years out of work, the realistic market for the person's skills, and the reason employment ended.
The same logic applies in reverse to husbands who plead poverty. An able-bodied husband cannot escape maintenance by claiming unemployment; courts routinely attribute at least minimum-wage-level earnings and look hard at lifestyle indicators that contradict the pleaded income.
Common scenarios in Delhi practice
| Scenario | Usual approach of the court |
|---|---|
| Wife earns, but far less than husband | Spousal maintenance bridges part of the gap; child expenses apportioned |
| Incomes broadly comparable | Spousal maintenance often declined; child expenses shared |
| Wife qualified but not working, young children | No notional income ordinarily attributed; maintenance granted |
| Wife left equivalent job around litigation | Notional income may be attributed; claim moderated |
| Husband pleads unemployment | Earning capacity attributed; lifestyle evidence examined |
Interim maintenance is fixed on affidavits and prima facie material, not a mini-trial. A party who files a complete, candid affidavit early controls the narrative; a party caught suppressing an income stream rarely recovers credibility at the final stage.
Overlapping forums, one measure
Maintenance can be sought under the BNSS, the Hindu Marriage Act, the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act and the DV Act, and an earning wife's position is assessed on the same principles in each. Amounts awarded in one proceeding are adjusted against another — the law prevents double recovery, not multiple remedies. Where orders overlap, the later court is told of the earlier award and sets off the amounts.
Takeaways
Employment is a factor, never an automatic bar.
The benchmark is the marital standard of living, not subsistence.
Children's maintenance is computed separately and shared.
Complete affidavits of assets and income decide interim outcomes.
Concealment invites attribution of income and adverse inference.
This article states general principles applied in Delhi courts and is not legal advice for any specific case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a wife earning a good salary still get maintenance?
She can, if her income is insufficient to sustain the standard of living of the matrimonial home — but the gap is what the court bridges. Where her income is roughly comparable to the husband's, courts frequently decline spousal maintenance while still ordering the father to bear the children's expenses proportionately.
Is a wife who is qualified but not working treated as earning?
Courts distinguish between capacity to earn and actual earning. A qualification alone does not disqualify her, but where the record shows she deliberately gave up equivalent work to inflate a claim, courts can attribute a notional income. Each case turns on why she is not working, including child-care responsibilities.
Does the wife's income affect the children's maintenance?
Children's entitlement stands on its own footing. Both parents bear the expense of raising children broadly in proportion to their means, so the mother's income may adjust the ratio but does not extinguish the father's obligation.
What if a spouse hides income?
Both parties in Delhi must file detailed affidavits of assets, income and expenditure. Suppression carries real consequences: courts can draw adverse inferences, attribute income based on lifestyle, bank statements and standard of living, and even initiate perjury proceedings in serious cases.