A court cannot legally compel an indigent person (a person lacking means) to pay maintenance, as the legal obligation to pay is predicated upon the ability to pay. This was the core observation of the High Court of Kerala in the case of Jubairiya vs. Saidalavi N [2025: KER: 68937].
The financial capacity to provide for another is a legal prerequisite for a maintenance order under statutes such as Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Consequently, an individual whose subsistence is derived solely from begging lacks the financial means to fulfill such an obligation.
In this case, Jubairiya, the second wife, had filed a claim for ₹10,000 per month in the Family Court, Malappuram. The husband, Saidalavi, testified that his sole income was derived from begging and the charity of neighbors.
Significantly, Jubairiya herself acknowledged her husband’s status as a beggar. She nonetheless claimed that he earned approximately ₹25,000 monthly, purportedly from begging and assisting with utility bill payments.
