The Uttarakhand High Court has held that a man who knowingly marries a woman with a child from her previous marriage cannot subsequently evade responsibility for the child’s maintenance merely because he is not the biological father.
The Bench of Justice Alok Mahra allowed a criminal revision challenging a Family Court order and held that the absence of a biological relationship, by itself, could not justify completely disowning responsibility towards a child whom the man had voluntarily accepted as part of his matrimonial household.
The case arose from a Family Court order dated January 24, 2022, which had awarded maintenance of Rs 8,000 per month to the wife and Rs 6,000 per month to the minor daughter under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The claim for maintenance by the wife’s son from her previous marriage was rejected on the ground that the respondent was not his biological father.
The wife and her son challenged the order before the High Court, submitting that the respondent had married the woman in 2013 with full knowledge that she had a son from her previous marriage.
The High Court noted that the marriage was solemnised with the understanding that the child would reside with his mother and that, after the marriage, the respondent accepted him as a member of the matrimonial household.
The Court ruled that because the husband willingly married his wife knowing she had a child and brought that child into his home, he cannot later avoid the duty he voluntarily took on to support them. The High Court accordingly found that the Family Court had erred in denying maintenance to the son solely because the respondent was not his biological father.
The respondent had also argued that the child’s mother had received Rs 5 lakh under a settlement with her former husband at the time of their divorce towards her stridhan and the child’s maintenance.
The High Court rejected this contention, holding that an arrangement between the woman and her former husband could not, by itself, absolve the respondent of the responsibility he had voluntarily assumed after marrying her with knowledge that she had a son.
The Court held that a woman’s divorce settlement with her former husband cannot be used to wipe away her current husband’s legal obligations to the family.
On the question of quantum, the wife relied on the respondent’s November 2025 salary slip, which showed a gross salary of Rs 2,01,843 and net salary of Rs 1,06,654 after deductions. She submitted that, excluding deductions that ought not to be considered while determining his actual income, his effective monthly income exceeded Rs 1.50 lakh.
The High Court found that the respondent had no substantial independent liability materially affecting his ability to pay maintenance and concluded that the amounts awarded by the Family Court were on the lower side.
Accordingly, the maintenance payable to the wife was enhanced from Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per month, while the amount payable to the minor daughter was substantially increased from Rs 6,000 to Rs 30,000 per month.
The Court further directed that the wife’s son, born on November 23, 2007, would be entitled to maintenance of Rs 10,000 per month from the date of filing of the maintenance application until he attains majority.
The criminal revision was accordingly allowed.
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