#gross salary

The Gujarat High Court ruled that voluntary PF/ESPP deductions cannot be deducted from gross salary for Section 125 maintenance, as they are the husband's assets, not mandatory charges. Applying the Supreme Court's Harpreet Sawhney precedent, it quashed a net-salary-based order and remanded for fresh computation on gross income, safeguarding the wife's maintenance entitlement.

The Himachal Pradesh High Court ruled that maintenance under Section 125 CrPC must be calculated on gross salary, not net take-home pay, reinforcing the statutory right to support regardless of a pending divorce decree or its stay. The judgment clarifies that financial obligations persist even if the wife is employed or the husband faces medical hardships, ensuring protection for dependent spouses and children.