New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday ordered former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister mar Abdullah to pay Rs 1.5 lakh per month as maintenance to his estranged wife, Payal Abdullah.
Along with maintenance, Omar Abdullah needed to give Rs 60,000 every month for his son’s education, as per the High Court’s order.
In 2018, a trial court ordered Omar Abdullah to pay an interim maintenance of Rs 75,000 per month to Payal Abdullah and Rs 25,000 to their son till he turned 18.
At the time, the trial court had said that Abdullah had sufficient sources of income, was duty-bound to maintain his wife and minor child, and that he cannot shirk his liability and responsibility.
The court also observed that grant of maintenance to a wife is a “measure of social justice”.
‘Children are silent victims and the worst sufferers. Even if a wife is well-qualified, she should not be deprived of her right to claim maintenance as per the status of her husband. A husband is duty-bound and has a legal obligation to pay maintenance to his wife and children, if he is an able-bodied person as per his income and status. There should not be mathematical calculations,” the trial court said in 2018.
The trial court’s order was challenged by his wife before the Delhi High Court and the amount has now been increased. The High Court order was passed by a bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad.

Press Trust of India