Child maintenance
Child maintenance after separation: do both parents have to contribute?
By Raadhika Gupta · Published · 5 min read
The child continues to need school fees, food, transport and health care even when the parents disagree about money. In practice, conversations often turn into a single question: “Which parent must pay everything?”
The Allahabad High Court addressed this in Archana Rao and 2 Others v State of U.P. and Another (Criminal Revision No. 7197 of 2025), decided on 25 September 2026. The family court had ordered the father to pay ₹1,500 a month for each of two minor children and rejected the wife’s own maintenance claim. The mother and children challenged that order. On the evidence before it, the High Court declined to interfere. It explained that both parents ordinarily contribute to a minor child’s upbringing according to their respective means and financial capacity, regardless of which parent the child lives with. It also said an order must be realistically executable.
Does “both parents” mean a 50–50 split?
No fixed 50–50 formula follows from this decision. The court spoke about respective means, the family’s social and economic circumstances, and effective payment. Nor does it mean the parent caring for the child contributes nothing unless they transfer cash: everyday care and direct spending form part of the factual picture. The judgment arose in a proceeding under the earlier Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure; the exact statutory route and applicable law need checking in a present matter.
The decision also does not mean every mother has a higher income or every father a lower one. The court relied on what it said the record showed in this particular revision. The reported ₹1,500 figure is not a benchmark or suggested amount for another family.
What information helps clarify a child’s actual needs?
Think of a child in Class IV whose parents have separated. One parent pays the school directly, the other buys food and handles transport. A new term brings books, an annual fee and a medical expense. If they discuss only “monthly maintenance,” they may leave the larger costs unresolved.
- List regular costs: food, school, transport, medicine, clothing and activities.
- List periodic costs separately: admission or annual fees, books, health emergencies and travel.
- Note what each parent already pays directly and what existing court orders require.
- Keep fee notices, bills, receipts and income records already lawfully available to you; do not access the other person’s private accounts without authority.
- Record caregiving and where the child currently lives. Avoid making the child a messenger for payment demands.
- If there is a disagreement, ask how an arrangement would work in practice: payment date, recipient, direct fees and unexpected costs.
Do maintenance and contact with the child depend on each other?
Financial support and parenting time are different questions. A dispute about one should not be turned into a threat about the other. If there is an existing order, take prompt advice about compliance or lawful variation. If there is danger or coercion, seek protective assistance rather than treating this checklist as a mediation instruction.
Source
Note: General legal information. No particular maintenance amount or entitlement can be determined without the facts, the applicable law and existing orders.