New Delhi, Aug. 30 -- A family court in Gurgaon has directed a husband to pay Rs.2 lakh a month as maintenance to his estranged wife, rejecting his argument that a fifty per cent decline in his income and Rs.1.7 crore home loan liabilities had reduced his ability to make alimony payments.

The husband's income tax returns showed that his annual taxable income had fallen by nearly 50%. However, the court did not accept the decline as sufficient justification for reducing or avoiding his maintenance obligation. It directed him to deposit Rs.2 lakh with his wife by the 10th of every month.

The husband argued that his net annual salary had dropped to around Rs.36 lakh. He also pointed to outstanding home loan liabilities of approximately Rs....