Jail term doesn't absolve husband of duty to pay maintenance to wife: Allahabad HC

PRAYAGRAJ: (Mar 26) The Allahabad High Court has said that a husband cannot escape his responsibility to pay maintenance to his wife and children even if he has already served a jail term for not paying it.

Justice Praveen Kumar Giri, in a recent order, clarified that sending a person to civil prison for failing to pay maintenance does not clear his dues or end his legal obligation to continue paying the amount.

The court also ruled that the legal principle of "double jeopardy" -- which prevents someone from being punished twice for the same offence -- does not apply in such maintenance cases under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.