MUMBAI, July 28 -- "Equality cannot be claimed selectively and certainly not when both parties are earning. If lifestyle is to be maintained, both parties must contribute," the Bombay High Court observed last week in an estranged couple's dispute over the payment of maintenance by the husband. The court halved the interim monthly maintenance payable by the husband to Rs.25,000 from Rs.50,000, while directing him to clear maintenance arrears since 2021 within 12 weeks. It noted that the wife continued to live in the couple's flat in Andheri, for which the husband continued to pay the Equated Monthly Instalments (EMIs), despite having moved back to his native Baihar in Madhya Pradesh after losing his job during the Covid-19 pandemic. A single-judge bench of Justice M M Sathaye, in an order dated July 24, said, "In a dispute between husband and wife, if wife expects a luxury of staying at a premium location like Andheri, Mumbai without paying EMI from her own pocket and the very availability of such premium location flat/residence is because the husband is paying EMI, then it cannot be expected from the husband, who is supposed to pay EMI or paying EMI, will not plead it as a reason for reduction in maintenance amount." The case reached the High Court after a 41-year-old chartered accountant challenged a family court's interim order passed in January 2025 directing him to pay his estranged wife monthly maintenance of Rs.50,000, with arrears from October 30, 2021 amounting to nearly Rs.27 lakh. Divorce and child custody proceedings between the couple remain pending before the family court. The husband told the High Court that before the Covid-19 pandemic he had a well-paying job in Mumbai and was servicing EMIs of about Rs.1 lakh every month on two flats, one in Andheri and another in Panvel. However, after losing his job during the pandemic and suffering a decline in income, he shifted back to his native place in Madhya Pradesh. He submitted that he continued paying the EMIs on both flats while also meeting his own expenses and supporting his parents. He said he would be able to pay Rs.25,000 as maintenance if his wife shifted to the Panvel flat, enabling him to sell the Andheri property and clear the maintenance arrears. While the family court had observed that there was no explanation for the husband's reduced income in 2021, Justice Sathaye disagreed, noting that the pandemic had adversely affected professions and businesses across the country. The judge further observed, "It is unfortunate to note that when the husband and wife both are earning and want their children to take the best education and both are expected to contribute to education expenses, the decision about location of the school and fees must be taken with consent of both stake-holder parties". Reducing the wife's monthly maintenance to Rs.25,000, the High Court directed the husband to clear the arrears within 12 weeks and expedited the matrimonial dispute pending before the family court....