The Delhi High Court, in one of its judgments, stated that alimony cannot be given to an economically self-reliant and capable spouse. It also clarified that permanent alimony is a tool for social justice, not a means to make capable people rich or to equalise their economic status.

A division bench of Justice Anil Kshetrapal and Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar said that the person seeking alimony must prove that they genuinely need financial assistance. In this case, the wife is a Group A officer in the Railways and earns sufficient money.

The High Court made these observations while rejecting a woman's demand for permanent alimony. The woman had been granted a divorce from her husband on the grounds of cruelty. Subsequently, the Family Court refused to grant permanent alimony to th

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