Bengaluru, July 6 : In a major decision, the Karnataka High Court has ruled that when a married woman is capable of working, she cannot expect heavy compensation from her husband.

The bench headed by Justice Rajendra Badamikar gave the ruling while looking into a criminal review petition on Wednesday submitted by a divorced woman.

The court also upheld the judgment of the sessions court reducing the monthly alimony amount from Rs 10,000 to Rs 5,000 and compensation from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 2 lakh.  The bench observed that there were no sufficient grounds for a woman who was working before marriage to sit at home after getting married. 

“Having capability to work, she cannot be idle and demand compensation from the husband. She can only ask for alimony for livelihood,” the bench said.  The former husband of the petitioner runs a provision store and is taking care of his mother and unmarried sister.  The woman sought a divorce after she was unable to continue living with the husband.