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Bhartiya No. 1 (Nationalist)     06 November 2010

A husband has moral and legal duty to provide a decent maint

Below is the news article which is just in observing that " A husband has moral and legal duty to provide a decent maintenance",

 

So new trend of denying maintenance by citing various reasons like able bodied, qualified etc is not proper and is totally unjust.

 

Husband bound to provide maintenance regardless of income New Delhi, Apr 4, (PTI):
A husband has moral and legal duty to provide a decent maintenance amount to estranged wife in consonance with her living standards irrespective of his income, a Delhi court has said.
"A married man is under a legal and moral obligation to maintain his estranged wife whether he possesses any property or not or whether or not he has any income. The obligation to maintain her is personal in character and arises from the very existence of the relationship between the parties," Additional Sessions Judge Nivedita Anil Sharma said.

The court passed the order while declining the plea of a husband, Shalabh Srivastava, seeking alteration in the interim-maintenance amount fixed by a lower court on the grounds that his income had substantially come down after he joined a new job. It declined the husband's plea saying that he had an earning potential of Rs 35,500 per month and if he has preferred to minimise his income and work at a lesser salary, then he cannot be allowed to take advantage of his own conduct.

"The fact of taking up a job at a lesser salary clearly indicates that the revisionist (husband) is deliberately making a conscious effort to reduce and minimise his income. It is also not believable that any man would work at a lesser income than what he is getting already." "The averments of the appellant clearly show that a deliberate attempt has been made by him to lessen his income and he cannot be permitted to take advantage of this fact," the court observed.

The court rejected the contention of husband that the earning potential of his estranged wife was far more than the amount she was getting as maintenance. "There is nothing brought on the record prima facie by the husband to show that the earning potential of the respondent (wife) is more than Rs 7,000 as observed by the trial court," the court said.

It also turned down the plea that the wife was living separately due to her own conduct, saying that the fact was immaterial for the purpose of award of interim-maintenance. "The dispute regarding conduct of the parties are immaterial....only the earnings, properties, assets as well as the earning potential of both the sides is to be taken into consideration," it said.

Shalabh had appealed against the order of a trial court fixing Rs 7,000 per month as the maintenance for his estranged wife Ritu. While awarding the maintenance, the trial court had concluded that Shalabh's income was around Rs 35,500.

 

https://www.deccanherald.com/content/62028/husband-bound-provide-maintenance-regardless.html

 



Learning

 57 Replies

Bhartiya No. 1 (Nationalist)     07 November 2010

'Wife, kids to get maintenance from day case is filed': SC

 

"The deserted wife and children are the sufferers who seek shelter of the protective umbrella provided by Section 125 of the Code. If maintenance is not granted from the date of application, the weaker sections are sure to lose confidence in the justice delivery system," said Justice Thakker, writing the judgment for the Bench.

"The duration of the litigation is not within the power or in the hands of the applicant and entitlement to maintenance should not be left to the uncertain date of disposal of the case," the Bench said, adding it was the husband's moral obligation as well as the legal duty to maintain his wife.

 

source/link:

https://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/times-of-india-the/mi_8012/is_20080731/wife-kids-maintenance-filed-india/ai_n39495028/

 

 

 The complete judgement can be downloaded from the link below-

 

https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1952766/

 

 

or the judgement is attached here below ,

 

 


Attached File : 53 53 shail kumari devi anr vs kishun b pathak on 28 july 2008.pdf downloaded: 181 times

pankaj (Engineer)     08 November 2010

In the modern era of women's libration, the concept of maintenance by husband is absolutely rotten. Our court of law shall progress rather than going back to 12th century!

Mind you India is being ruled by women!

President of India - Mrs Pratibha Patil (WOMEN)

Prime Minister of India - Mrs Sonia Gandhi (WOMEN) ----come on! everyone knows Mr MM Singh is a rubber stamp ;)


How can any Indian even think of saying that women r being dominated! Give a break

Avnish Kaur (Consultant)     08 November 2010

this itself shows bias against women. sonia is still not not taken as GHAR KI BAHU, so she has to rule by proxy.

1 Like

Bhartiya No. 1 (Nationalist)     08 November 2010

in a civilized society, the right of the weakest be most protected. Even in advance country also provision for maintenace/alimony is there.

Liberation and advancement does not mean that right of anyone be snatched.

1 Like

Kunal Mukherjee (Father)     08 November 2010

Would a man actually contrive to opt for a lower paying assignment with the objective of depriving his estranged wife of increased alimony ? If our Judiciary actually believes this, they should reconsider their career options. A man may be suppressing his true income - thats for the Court to evaluate & decide - but if his true income is actually reduced, either due to a change in employment or loss of employment, how can he be held liable for his so called "earning potential" ?

Maintenance permissible is also supposed to take into consideration the earnings of the wife. Does the Court ever take the trouble of seriously evaluating this for the wife ? Not in my experience.

Is the same yardstick employed for assessing the income of both sides ? For example, if the wife's ITR is considered her proof of income, will the husband's ITR also be considered as his proof of income.

The answer is usually : NO !

The Indian Judiciary also has a moral and legal duty to provide judgments free of gender-bias. Let that duty be exercised honestly as that pertains to fundamental rights ; the society will soon see a marked change in the atitude of men to provide for their estranged wife.

Avnish Kaur (Consultant)     08 November 2010

its era of emotional atyachar culture and these old men are just too old to kno reality of todays life.

Avnish Kaur (Consultant)     08 November 2010

judges in hugh court and supreme court are around 60s age group, they will continue to say beg , borrow or steal

Bhartiya No. 1 (Nationalist)     08 November 2010

desicion/judgment may change but law remains the same. Even newer age grp too do the same, how far they can deviate from the law.
 


(Guest)

what about maintenance to child? if wife is earning she may not get maintenance.But if father stops thinking of wellbeing of minor kids after separation due to his extra marital affairs , then , is he liable for maintenance of his kids.If his annual income is 4.5 lacs, then how much he has to pay for his kids.If his kids live in rented house with their mother then who will pay the rent?Wife has no problem to live with him if stops those illicit relation.

Kunal Mukherjee (Father)     09 November 2010

Maintenance to child is beyond question or discussion as far as I am concerned. I would go to the extent of saying that this should apply even if the child is an illegitimate issue of the wife.

Utpalaji has raised what seems to be a hypothetical scenario where a philanderer man has married a virtual angel who "has no problem to live with him if stops those illicit relation". In reality however, the picture is rarely so one-sided as depicted by her and as usually presumed by our judiciary.

But whatever the reality, both father & mother are equally responsible for maintenance of the child although the onus is almost always on the father alone, in the eyes of our judiciary.

Tajobsindia (Senior Partner )     09 November 2010

@ Utpala

You asked three-in-one theoretical questions and I will touchup them in legal sequence;


1. A child maint. is always co-extensive (SC binding BTW in case you missed reading the same Law) and shared as per status of both parents. A child maint. by natural guardian is till the child marries (in case female) and or till a child gets a job (again in case she a female). Well in case of a male child it is upto his majority age and once crosses the majority age is ruled by personal Succession laws of the Land and further also perceived on change in circumstances grounds (rare though in India as precedents).


2. If no Decree in between the theoretical couples in your que. then natural guardian can't escape his responsibilities to minors ir-respective he has a mistress or living a vagabond life. He needs to be sued for such in-acts is my blunt societal views.


3. Rent is always paid by the custodial parent and in your raised situation if mother is earning but not able to meet even the rent and has been debarred for maint. then she should sue the natural guardian for maint. to her once again using criminal maint. Laws as it never subsists showing change in circumstances grounds of hers (not that of child though under rent headings).


4. Concerning que. of her coming back to him is purely a answer based on more facts of the case so less touched this theoretical bummer the better is my limited views. However, illct relations proof if she has then bell him out is also a way out. But then who has the legal recourse patience now-a-days, hai na.......


FYI, child maint covers only following co-extensive (shared by both parents) contentious issues (scope) to be set by a Ld. Judge under maint. heading;


- Education expenses (as per status of parties)
- Medical expenses (variable can’t be set into one bracket)
- Extra curricular activities (school picnics / outings / camping)
- Conveyance (school transports)
- Food (as per status of parents)
- Clothing (again as per status of parties)
- Marriage (if female)
- Higher education (if female)
- Job (prospective issue only if female)
 

However, you being feminist you may educate me with your blow-ups on what other things to be included as child maint. I would love to hear your remarkable thoughts on this subject.


(Guest)

@tajobsindia

 first I want to thank you for your response.But one thing I could not understand why you felt that I  AM A FAMINIST?

    I have a friend who had a love  and inter religion marriage.At the time of marriage the boy was an unemployed one.My friend got a service in a Private school and by mutual understanding they struggled and after 3/4 years they were settled. During this period my friend helped her hubby financialy, even she was the sole person to support  him financialy as his parents stopped helping him due to their inter -religion marriage.Moreover that my friend was assaulted mentally a lot by her drunkard father in law and cunning mother in law for trapping their son and making him elope with her( which was false). But during this period her husband gave her support and so she beared everything silently.

After 9 years of happy marriage my friend came to know that her hubby had illicit relations with many other girls And with one of them his has strong affair.The friend came to know all these after birth of the second daughter who is 19 months old now.When my friend asked her husband about all those thing ,first he denied and tried to convince her all these are false. but when my friend showed some documentary proofs he admitted that he had an affair with a girl.My friend was helpless beacause she did not want to loose her hubby for kids' sake.But her husband lied her again and kept continuing with the girl.He even told that girl that he had no relations with his wife after birth of his first child !He promised that girl to marry her while during those days he maintained a very good relation with the wife.

when my friend again charged him why he is continuing with that girl he became angry and abandoned her with two girl child of those younger one was of 4 month of age.He then started to keep relation with his mistress openly.

He earns a lot compared to his wife.All his business was settled with his wifes' money. NOw he refuses to maintain them.

they are living separately for last 1 and half years. about 6 months ago, my friend lodged FIR against him where he was charged with  Sec 498A and Sec 497.He has stopped all other facilities to his wife and giving punishment of protesting him keeping illicit relations with other girls.

However my friend's elder daughter has very strong attachments with father for which my friend does'n want divorce.so what you all suggest my friend to do? Now she is in a rented house. Her hubby pays the rent,he also pay scool fees and the electricity bill.But no other expenses he bears inspite of having strong financial condition.

please suggest.

 

Roshni B.. (For justice and dignity)     10 November 2010

Just file DV case against him.

she'll get compensation for his emotional and mental abuse,maintenance for children+plus he'll be put to shame when his affairs are exposed in court.

some people get on track only when they are put to shame while some dont change even after showing so much patience which our beautiful indian culture propagates to all indian wives.so stubborn people like this husband have to be shown strictness...enough leniency as of now.

else,your friend can contnue waiting for as long as she wants,if she thinks he'll have a spiritual awakening and will reform.

1 Like

Avnish Kaur (Consultant)     10 November 2010

try dv act, but wo sudhernrewala nahi hai. laton ke bhoot aajkal laaton se bhi nahi maante.

1 Like

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