Allahabad High Court issues rulings on maintenance and personal autonomy

The Allahabad High Court has issued several rulings clarifying legal standards regarding maintenance, personal autonomy, and the use of digital evidence in family law matters.

In a decision regarding alimony, the Court ruled that unverified Instagram chats are insufficient to prove a wife is ‘living in adultery’ to deny her maintenance. Justice Jai Krishna Upadhyay noted that without corroborative evidence of physical intimacy or cohabitation, social media text messages do not establish an adulterous lifestyle. Additionally, the Court held that a husband cannot avoid maintenance obligations by claiming unemployment or poor business performance if he is capable of earning, describing such claims as ‘bald excuses’ intended to bypass the legal requirement to support a spouse.

In a separate matter involving habeas corpus, the Court ruled that parents cannot use the writ to compel an adult daughter to reside with them against her will. Justice Sandeep Jain observed that once an adult makes a ‘clear, voluntary and unequivocal choice’ regarding their residence, their autonomy and decisional freedom must be recognized, noting that a major person cannot be forced to live with parents against their expressed wishes.