The Jharkhand High Court has held that a husband cannot ordinarily rely on loans taken for “future wealth construction” to reduce his income for determining maintenance or permanent alimony. The Court held that voluntary loan repayments, particularly for creating assets, cannot override the obligation to maintain the wife. The Bench, however, said voluntary loans taken for future wealth creation cannot ordinarily be allowed to reduce a husband's maintenance obligation. The Court noted that where a loan is taken primarily to reduce disposable income and thereby avoid maintenance obligations, the reduction may be disregarded. Appearance: Mr. Pankaj Srivastava and Mr. Ashish Gautam for the Appellant; Mr. Hemant Kumar Shikarwar and Mr. Abhishek Kumar for the Respondent.