The Madras High Court, in a significant ruling, has stated that if the husband is elderly, ill, and dependent on others, his wife cannot claim maintenance from him. Justice L. Victoria Gowri of the Madurai Bench upheld the lower court's decision.

The lower court had also dismissed the wife's petition seeking ₹30,000 in maintenance from her paralyzed husband. Justice Gowri stated that according to the law, a wife can only claim maintenance if she is unable to support herself and the husband has the capacity to pay.

Citing a 2008 Supreme Court judgment, she said that the purpose of granting maintenance is not to punish the husband, but to protect the wife from poverty, but in this case, the husband is paralyzed, elderly, and dependent. In such a situation, it is not appropriate to make him

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