Adult daughters entitled to maintenance, rules Gujarat HC

, Sep 12: The

has directed a primary teacher to pay maintenance to his two adult daughters holding that they are also entitled to it until they get married or begin to earn their livelihood.

Justice S G Shah, in his judgement on Wednesday, while setting aside the order of the Additional Sessions Judge Bhuj, observed that, "I have no hesitation to hold that the adult daughters are also entitled to maintenance till they get married or start earning so as to maintain themselves."

Manjula Parmar, a resident of Kutch district, in 2010 had sought maintenance from her husband Girish alias Ganpat Parmar, for herself and their two daughters-Dipika (20) and Mittal (19).

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) in Bhuj, on December 27, 2012, ordered Parmar to pay Rs 5,000 to his wife and Rs 2,500 to each of his daughters, which was challenged by him before the district court on the grounds that both the daughters had turned major by then and his son Dipak was also earning.

On May 8, 2013 Additional Sessions Judge of the Bhuj in Kutch district has overruled the order of ACJM and held that the major children were not entitled to maintenance. Manjula Parmar challenged this order in the High Court through her advocate Vijay Nangesh, who cited various orders from different High Courts and argued that till the daughter gets married or starts earning, her father was liable to pay maintenance to her.

The High Court in its judgement, while granting Manjula's prayer, has restored the magisterial court's order to her divorced husband to pay Rs 10,000 to his family every month.

PTI