4 min readNew DelhiJul 28, 2026 03:30 PM IST
The Karnataka High Court has ruled that a father’s obligation to maintain minor children continues irrespective of the mother’s income and upheld Rs 2,000 monthly maintenancefor two minors while rejecting their father’s challenge.
Justice Ravi V Hosmani was dealing with a plea of a father challenging the family court’s maintenance order for his two children, citing that his wife is a government teacher and capable of maintaining the children.
“When marital discord between the petitioner and his wife is not disputed, the respondents’ children would be entitled to maintenance from both parents. Moreover, the parties herein subscribe to Mohammedan law, which obliges the father to maintain his children,” the court said on July 16.
The order added that admittedly, both children are minors and both their parents are working, and the petitioner has not placed on record any material to establish that he is without income or unable to maintain himself.
Father challenged child maintenance
The case arose from a father’s challenge to orders directing him to pay maintenance of Rs 2,000 per month each to his two minor sons under Section 125 (order for maintenance of wives, children and parents) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
The mother, a government school teacher, had alleged that after their 2008 marriage, the husband subjected her to dowry-related harassment, neglected the family, and failed to provide financial support.
The father admitted the relationship but argued that since the mother was earning a stable income and he was only a private teacher, he should not be saddled with maintenance. It was stated that the petitioner was having a salary of more than Rs 20,000 per month, owned a house and landed property, and earned more than Rs 25,000. Thus, despite sufficient income, the petitioner had failed to maintain them.
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The husband contended that the claim was filed in vengeance by his wife after her complaint had ended in a ‘B’ report. ‘B’ report is a final police report filed in court when an investigation shows no evidence against the accused.
He denied demanding dowry and stated that he was working as a daily-wage teacher in an Urdu school, whereas his wife was a teacher in a government school and had sufficient means of maintaining the children. After both the trial court and revisional court rejected his contentions, he approached the high court.
It was submitted that, without proper consideration, the petition was allowed, awarding Rs 2,000 per month to each of the children till they attain the age of majority.
Father has obligation to maintain his minor children: Order
The court observed that both under Section 125 of the CrPC and Mohammedan personal law, a father has an independent and continuing obligation to maintain his minor children. The mere fact that the children’s mother is employed and earning a salary does not absolve the father of this responsibility.
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The Court noted that the father had failed to produce any documentary evidence, such as salary certificates, to substantiate his claim that his income was insufficient to pay maintenance. His assertion that he worked only as a daily-wage teacher remained unproved.
Relying on a couple of Supreme Court judgements, the court reiterated that a Muslim father’s duty to maintain his children continues until sons become adults or become self-sufficient, and until daughters are married, irrespective of whether the children reside with their mother.
The court further observed that the trial court had carefully assessed the financial status of both parents, the children’s needs, and the father’s admitted failure to provide maintenance since 2012.
It found that the maintenance of Rs 2,000 per month per child was neither excessive nor unreasonable and that there was no ground to interfere with the concurrent findings of the lower courts. Accordingly, it dismissed the father’s petition.
