LCI Learning

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on LinkedIn

Share on Email

Share More

Anis (Asst. Manager - Sales)     07 April 2013

Need help with the order of maintenance

My wife had filed a DV Act case and asked for maintenance and rent for residence. I had submitted my salary slip in which my basic salary is Rs.22,000/-. I also get travelling allowance as per my monthly travel for my meetings which is used again in the next month for travelling for other meetings and is variable.

I had submitted a written arguement in the MM court and mentioned that I get Rs.22,000/- salary and I am paying a home loan EMI of Rs.15,321/- per month. I had submitted my Home Loan Statement also. There is a deduction of professional tax of Rs.200/- per month.

After deducting the professional tax and paying home loan I am left with Rs.6,379/- per month in hand.


I had submitted the judgement of Supreme Court of India in which the Hon'ble Supreme Court has taken EMI into consideration while deciding maintenance.

However the MM court judge has ignored everything and passed an order of Rs.4,000/- per month as maintenance and Rs.2,000/- as rent for residence.

Now I am left with only Rs.379/- in hand after paying the maintenance.


Please advise what should be the next step. Should I go for a revision petition in the same MM court or should I appeal in the Sessions Court.

I am very tensed as I have 3 dependants including my aged parents and a younger brother. I had mentioned about the dependants also in my written arguement.

The MM court judge has mentioned in his order that since I did not pay money to my wife after she left the matrimonial home I have committed economic abuse. My wife has herself acknowledged that she is staying at her parents house.


Please advise what should I do.

Thanks & Regards,

Anis



Learning

 10 Replies

ajay sethi (lawyer)     07 April 2013

you have not mentioned your wife qualifications . whether she is working or not ? since you are earning Rs 23,000 a month the court has passed an order directing you to pay only 20%of your monthly income as maintenance . these days Rs 4,000 a month is peanuts and very diffcult for survival .

if you are aggrived by the order then make application for modiccation of order as court has not taken into account your home loan EMIs . you rbest bet would be to stress on your wife qualifcationas and her earning caapcity .

Rama chary Rachakonda (Secunderabad/Telangana state Highcourt practice watsapp no.9989324294 )     07 April 2013

The basis of the claim for interim maintenance is that the claimant has no independent income of his/her own to support himself/herself. The provision is silent on the quantum of maintenance and it is upon the discretion of the court to determine the quantum. Similarly, maintenance pendente lite is to be provided to the claimant who does not have an independent income and the financial need of litigation expenses has to be provided by the other spouse.

S P SRIVASTAVA (ADVOCATE)     07 April 2013

Immediately file revision in session court. press upon point of EMI and three dependants you have to support. Find out if she is earning from any source which may be helpful to you.


(Guest)
Originally posted by : Anis

My wife had filed a DV Act case and asked for maintenance and rent for residence. I had submitted my salary slip in which my basic salary is Rs.22,000/-. I also get travelling allowance as per my monthly travel for my meetings which is used again in the next month for travelling for other meetings and is variable.

I had submitted a written arguement in the MM court and mentioned that I get Rs.22,000/- salary and I am paying a home loan EMI of Rs.15,321/- per month. I had submitted my Home Loan Statement also. There is a deduction of professional tax of Rs.200/- per month.

After deducting the professional tax and paying home loan I am left with Rs.6,379/- per month in hand.


I had submitted the judgement of Supreme Court of India in which the Hon'ble Supreme Court has taken EMI into consideration while deciding maintenance.

However the MM court judge has ignored everything and passed an order of Rs.4,000/- per month as maintenance and Rs.2,000/- as rent for residence.

Now I am left with only Rs.379/- in hand after paying the maintenance.


Please advise what should be the next step. Should I go for a revision petition in the same MM court or should I appeal in the Sessions Court.

I am very tensed as I have 3 dependants including my aged parents and a younger brother. I had mentioned about the dependants also in my written arguement.

The MM court judge has mentioned in his order that since I did not pay money to my wife after she left the matrimonial home I have committed economic abuse. My wife has herself acknowledged that she is staying at her parents house.


Please advise what should I do.

Thanks & Regards,

Anis

 

 

Frankly speaking:


ONE QUESTION ARISES IN MY MIND, WHAT WAS YOUR LAWYER DOING?  The places where he should have suggested you, he has not done, agreed that he has suggested you to submit all details pertaining to your income.


But your dear lawyer has forgotten one thing in totality.


Your LOVELY WIFE'S INCOME AND SOCIAL STATUS!


AGREED THAT Income - liabilities = take home income is what on basis is calculated the alimony to be paid 1/3rd of such income.


But why did you not submit how your so called beggar wife is acting as a beggar.


Either she is a born beggar or she is hiding in the guise of a beggar.


Now it is up to you to DISCOVER YOUR LOVELY WIFE'S INCOME.


COURT WILL SEE BOTH SIDES OF THE STORY, NOT SINGLE SIDE.  THE COURT WILL HEAR AND SEE SINGLE SIDE OF THE STORY ONLY WHEN YOU HAVE FAILED TO PROVIDE ANY DETAILS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR INCOME, AND PASS ORDERS ACCORDINGLY, WHICH IS A SAD BUT KNOWN THING.


IN YOUR CASE, YOU HAVE NOT PROVIDED A SINGLE DETAIL WITH REGARD TO WIFE'S INCOME.


THAT TECHNICALLY MAKES HER A BEGGAR WITH TORN CLOTHES AND EMPTY STOMACH TWENTY FOUR BAR SEVEN.  SO HENCE THE ORDER.


NOW EVEN AS SOME PERSON ABOVE HAS SUGGESTED TO YOU THAT YOU MOVE TO SESSIONS COURT, BEFORE THAT, YOU HAVE TO ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE FILED BEFORE THE HONARABLE COURT DOCUMENTS PERTAINING TO YOUR WIFE'S INCOME AND ALSO OBJECTIONS ABOUT THE ALIMONY ORDER.


WITHOUT WHICH EVEN IF YOU GO TO SESSIONS COURT, HC, OR SUPREME COURT, YOUR APPEAL WILL BE DISMISSED, AS THE HIGHER COURT, BE IT THE SESSIONS OR THE HC OR SC WILL ONLY LOOK INTO THE MATTER AS TO WHETHER YOU HAVE FILED OBJECTIONS WITH RELAVENT DOCUMENTS.


NOW THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY FILED OBJECTIONS AND THE MM HAS OVERLOOKED, YOU CAN AS WELL GO TO THE SESSIONS COURT FOR READJUDICATION OF THE ALIMONY GIVEN THE FACTS STATED TO THE MM, BUT LET ME REMIND YOU, YOU HAVE TO SUBMIT YOUR WIFE'S INCOME DETAILS AS TO WORKING, EARNING, HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH PROPERTY IN HER NAME, WHAT PROPERTY HER PARENTS HAVE GOT ETC.

Satyadarshi Kunal (advocate)     08 April 2013

HI Anis,

As commented/suggested, your wife's income and social status is very important for the case. Apart from modification of order or appeal before session judge, you might be surprised to know the fact that even you are entitled for maintainance if your income is lesser than your wife's income. So firstly let us know your wife's income so that we can suggest you a better way to help you out in this regard.

fighting back (exec)     08 April 2013

@ajay sethi...

@helping hand....

@all other other ld members, just wanted to enquire futher regarding the query placed by this author, what in a circumstance where the person is paying EMI of a home where he is presently NOT staying. i mean to say. what if a person who is paying an emi of a property which is an investment to him. will this emi be considered while calculating the expenses or, will it have a negative impact on the calculation of income, can the judge say " now that you are paying emi for an investment you have done in a property which is not your shelter right now. so you better increase your payout to your lovely wife"

my question is : is it wise to show EMI for a house which you are not occupying?

thanks everybody

Anis (Asst. Manager - Sales)     08 April 2013

Dear All, my wife is not working anywhere.. She was not working b4 marriage also. Ny point is that after paying EMI and Professional Tax I am left with Rs.6,379/- only. Out of that MM court has granted Rs.6,000/- Should I appeal in MM court for revision or should I move Sessions court.

Anis (Asst. Manager - Sales)     08 April 2013

Dear All, my wife is not working anywhere.. She was not working b4 marriage also. Ny point is that after paying EMI and Professional Tax I am left with Rs.6,379/- only. Out of that MM court has granted Rs.6,000/- Should I appeal in MM court for revision or should I move Sessions court.

(Guest)

 

Originally posted by : Anis
Dear All, my wife is not working anywhere.. She was not working b4 marriage also. Ny point is that after paying EMI and Professional Tax I am left with Rs.6,379/- only. Out of that MM court has granted Rs.6,000/- Should I appeal in MM court for revision or should I move Sessions court.


The following are the conditions depending on which alimony is awarded by the court.

Alimony is generally not granted to the seeking spouse if he or she is already receiving support during the time of divorce. Although the rewarding of alimony can be revised in such events based on the arguments for claiming the support. In case of a contested divorce, often spouses fail to come to any understanding regarding alimony. In such situations, the court takes up the task of making a decision on the amount of alimony to be paid. Only under certain compelling situations the court steps out to change the already framed alimony. Some times the court might even hand over the burden of paying for the maintenance to a public body.

The following are the factors that influence the duration and amount to be paid as alimony.

The amount and duration of alimony generally depends upon how long the marriage existed. Marriages that lasted more than 10 years are entitled to be granted a life long alimony. Age of the spouse is also taken into consideration while awarding alimony. Normally a young recipient of alimony gets it for a short period of time if the court thinks that he or she will soon be able to become financially sound trough prospective career excellence. Alimony is also in vogue in order to equalize the economic condition of both the spouses.

The higher earning spouse is entitled to pay a heavy amount as alimony. The spouse who is projected to be enjoying a prosperous career is liable to pay high alimony amount. If one of the spouses is suffering from poor health, the other is subjected to payment of high alimony to ensure proper medication and well being of the other spouse.


The terms and conditions of payment of alimony in India vary from one personal law to another. None of the Indian personal laws are spared from criticism due to existence of flaws in framing definite rules for granting alimony. The Shah Bano case is one such instance that exposes how the sustenance of a divorced woman is affected due to inclusion of inappropriate laws regarding post divorce maintenance and financial support.



 

Is there tax on alimony or is alimony tax deductible?

Unlike child support which is not tax-deductible, alimony is taxable income. Alimony becomes tax-deductible for the person paying alimony, which it is taxable for the one receiving it. As far as housing is concerned, if you happen to take possession of the house, you are liable to pay tax on it.


Further:


 

Kinds of monetary compensation

Alimony could be offered in two ways. It can either be a maintenance during the time of court proceedings or a permanent maintenance/lumpsum compensation after the legal separation. The lumpsum payment is usually referred to as the alimony. The spouse has the choice to go for either lumpsum payment or a fixed monthly payment, depending on the requirements.


How is alimony decided?

The court decides on the amount of alimony/maintenance after looking at factors like husband's income and property, the woman's income and property and the divorced individual's financial needs. The court could also look at external factors such as inflation while deciding on the alimony amount. However, it is the applicant who has to prove her/his spouse's net worth, which, in turn, will decide the amount of alimony/maintenance.


Explains Neeraj Shah, a Mumbai-based lawyer who specialises in family court and divorce laws, "One of the main issues we encounter in such divorce cases is lack of transparency. A wife is often clueless about her husband's net worth. This is more common when the woman is a home maker. The husband usually routes most of his investment-related letters, cheques and even bills to his office address. This makes it difficult for a woman to calculate the appropriate alimony or a monthly maintenance amount."


Once the court passes the order, the husband has to pay a lumpsum or a monthly amount till the wife remarries. The husband can request to stop or reduce the outgo, if the wife manages to get another source of income, adds Mr Shah. Often, a wife can gauge her husband's net worth by looking at his income tax returns, credit card and other utility bills like the mobile, share certificates and other investments, lifestyle and wealth (if any) inherited from his family. Otherwise, it will be difficult to arrive at an appropriate alimony/maintenance amount as it will be difficult to find how much the husband earns.


"It is essential to collect all these details as the existing legal stipulation does not prescribe any floor limit on alimony. It's very subjective today, and the spouse has to do the homework before computing compensation. The individual has to be doubly careful, especially if the spouse is a businessperson or has huge unaccounted salary," says Jignesh Kalotia, another Mumbai-based lawyer.


There is no fixed rule or formula to calculate the alimony. However, if both husband and wife are working, then the maintenance paid to the wife may vary in the range of one-third and one-fifth of the joint income of both spouses. That has been the trend, adds Mr Kalotia. Calculating alimony also factors in the lawyers' fee. The fees can vary from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2 lakh for the whole case taken together. Some lawyers also charge for every hearing, which could again fall in the range of Rs 2,000 to Rs 25,000. The fees depend on the case or petition, number of hearings and seniority of the lawyer.


In the end, tackling divorce is a daunting task without doubt. But following a systematic process to handle finances post-separation could help smoothen some of the rough edges.

Manoj Kumar Jain (abc)     08 April 2013

Please refer "domestic relation" and "share house hold" definition of the DV Act05. Every aggrieved wife must be in domestic relation as per the Act. In my opinion, there is no domestic relation exist after left of wife. Please refer the section and clause of DV Act again and again. Read DV Act three to four times to find out the best conclusion and then file revision. 


Leave a reply

Your are not logged in . Please login to post replies

Click here to Login / Register