India, Dec. 30 -- The Delhi High Court has held that a father cannot be absolved of his duty to maintain his minor children merely because the mother earns more than him, ruling that the obligation to support children is a legal, moral and social responsibility of both parents.

A bench of justice Swarana Kanta Sharma delivered the verdict on Saturday, while dismissing a man's challenge to an order directing him to pay interim maintenance for his three minor children.

"The earning capacity of the working parent, whether husband or wife, in whose custody the minor children are, does not erase or diminish that parent's responsibility as a caregiver, who continues to bear the burden of shouldering the dual responsibility of earning as well ...