“Judges must embody the legal system’s credibility,” the Allahabad High Court remarked while rebuking the Principal Judge of the Family Court in Sonbhadra for failing to uphold fairness in awarding maintenance to the wife of a judicial officer.
Justice Vinod Diwakar expressed “surprise” at the Family Court’s failure to accurately assess the husband’s salary despite him being a judicial officer. “It is surprising that the learned Family Judge was unaware of the salary structure for High Judicial Service Officers in Uttar Pradesh and, for the reasons best known to him, erroneously assumed the respondent-husband’s salary to be equivalent to the salary of an entry-level judicial officer in the cadre of district judge,” the Court stated.
Case Background
The case involved a woman who married a judicial officer in 2002. After facing alleged cruelty over dowry demands, she was reportedly thrown out of her matrimonial home in 2013 and later received a talaknama (divorce). In 2023, the Family Court granted her ₹20,000 per month as maintenance, but her husband allegedly failed to comply, leading her to seek enhancement in the High Court.
The High Court took a firm stance against the husband’s conduct, noting that as an experienced judicial officer, he prolonged the case through legal maneuvers. “The role of a judge is critical in maintaining public trust in the judiciary,” the Court observed, adding that judges are held to “the highest standards of accountability and their professional integrity must, without fail, be reflected in their personal conduct.”
Court’s Verdict
The High Court ruled in favor of the wife, directing the husband to clear arrears and increase the maintenance to ₹30,000 per month from August 2019 onwards. Additionally, he was ordered to pay ₹50,000 as litigation costs.
“Without making any comments on the learned Judge’s wisdom and impartiality, as he is not present before this court, I leave it for him to self-introspect and realize,” Justice Diwakar stated, emphasizing the need for judicial officers to uphold the rule of law not just in courtrooms but in their personal lives as well.
