The Supreme Court has enhanced the monthly maintenance payable to a woman from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000, holding that a husband’s financial commitments, such as loan repayments for asset creation, cannot take precedence over his statutory obligation to maintain his spouse. 

A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and AG Masih passed the order while allowing an appeal filed by Deepa Joshi against her estranged husband, Gaurav Joshi, challenging the adequacy of maintenance fixed by courts below. The apex court modified a June 26, 2025, order of the Uttarakhand High Court, which had earlier enhanced the maintenance from Rs 8,000 to Rs 15,000 per month.