According to SC, the father’s financial ability will determine child maintenance.

A minor child’s reasonable needs, the father’s financial capacity, income, and social standing must all be taken into account when determining maintenance, according to a Supreme Court ruling. Interference with maintenance awards made by lower courts is only warranted in cases where the decision is arbitrary, irrational, or illegal.

A plea for leave to appeal was denied by a two-judge panel made up of Justices Irfan Saadat Khan and Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, upholding the decision of the Sindh High Court.

The petitioner requested that the minor’s monthly maintenance be increased to Rs40,000, arguing before the court that the child’s father worked as a manager at a textile company in Bangladesh and received a large salary.

The District Judge set the child’s monthly maintenance at Rs. 30,000 with a 15% annual increase when resolving the appeal against the Family Court’s decision, according to the Supreme Court’s comprehensive verdict. The same ruling was later confirmed by the Sindh High Court.

The court noted that in deciding on the maintenance amount, the appellate court and the High Court had carefully considered the father’s salary, financial resources, other family responsibilities, and the child’s requirements. It also stated that the father had to provide for two additional children from his prior marriage.

The Supreme Court reaffirmed in its recent ruling in Muhammad Imran Baqar v. Mst. Zarnain Arzoo (PLD 2026 SC 170) that a father has a moral and legal duty to provide for his children, and that the amount of maintenance must be determined in accordance with the child’s actual needs and the father’s financial resources.

The court determined that the petitioner had not proven any legal error, misinterpretation of the facts, or abuse of judicial power in the lower courts’ rulings. As a result, it rejected the plea and upheld the Sindh High Court’s decision, finding no basis for interfering under Article 185(3) of the Constitution.