According to the Delhi High Court, if someone marries a person who already has a child, they cannot later claim that the child is not their responsibility. The court’s division bench, consisting of Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vikas Mahajan, stated that when a person enters into a marriage with someone who has a child, it is assumed that they have taken on the responsibility of caring for the child and cannot argue otherwise at a later stage.
The court rejected a request by a husband to challenge a family court decision that denied his request to modify the final judgment granting him a divorce from his wife based on desertion. The husband was directed by the family court to provide monthly payments of Rs. 2,500 for the first five years and Rs. 3,500 for the following five years to support his two children. Additionally, he was directed to pay Rs. 5,000 per month for each child until they either get married or become financially independent.
The petitioner had requested a modification of the family court’s order on the basis that the elder daughter of his wife, who was born out of her previous marriage with an Army personnel, was listed as a dependent in an order issued by the Army and was considered a family member of her late first husband. However, the Delhi High Court upheld the family court’s decision, stating that the order issued by the Army simply recognized a fact that the petitioner already knew. As a result, the court found that there was no change in circumstance as required by section 25(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act.
The Delhi High Court noted that the petitioner was aware that his wife’s first daughter was born from her previous marriage when he married her. The court stated that if the wife had known that the petitioner was not going to take care of her daughter, she would not have married him. The court also acknowledged that the petitioner had been supporting and taking care of the elder daughter until they had a falling out.
The Delhi High Court dismissed an appeal filed by a husband challenging a family court order that denied his request for a modification of the final judgment that granted him divorce from his wife. The husband was directed by the family court to pay Rs. 2,500 per month for each of their two children for the first five years, and Rs. 3,500 per month for the next five years. He was also ordered to pay Rs. 5,000 per month until both children got married or became financially independent.
The husband had sought a modification of the order on the basis that the elder daughter of his wife, who was born out of her first marriage with an Army personnel, was shown as a dependent in the Army’s order, and a family member of her late first husband. However, the court upheld the family court’s order, stating that the Army’s order merely recognized a fact that the husband was already aware of, and thus did not constitute a change in circumstances as required under section 25(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act. The court further noted that the husband was aware of the existence of the daughter and had undertaken her responsibility. Therefore, the court found no grounds to modify the original order and dismissed the husband’s appeal.
Source: https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/delhi-high-court-wife-marriage-child-previous-marriage-husband-223170
