Whether interim maintenance granted to wife can be enhanced considering credit card details of husband?
maintenance to the wife is now fairly settled. The Apex Court in
Jasbir Kaur Sehgal v. District Judge Dehradun [(1997) 7 SCC 7] has
held thus :
“The Court has to consider the status of the parties, their
respective needs, the capacity of the husband to pay
having regard to his reasonable expenses for his own
maintenance and of those he is obliged under the law
and statutory but involuntary payments or deductions.
The amount of maintenance fixed for the wife should be
such as she can live in reasonable comfort considering
her status and the mode of life she was used to when
she lived with her husband and also that she does not
feel handicapped in the prosecution of her case. At the
same time, the amount so fixed cannot be excessive or
extortionate.”
6. Recently, the Apex Court in Bhuwan Mohan Singh v.
Meena [(2015) 6 SCC 353], while dealing with the issue of
maintenance to the wife made following observations :
“Be it ingeminated that Section 125 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure (for short “the Code”) was
conceived to ameliorate the agony, anguish,
financial suffering of a woman who left her
matrimonial home for the reasons provided in the
provision so that some suitable arrangements can
be made by the Court and she can sustain herself
and also her children if they are with her. The
concept of sustenance does not necessarily mean to
lead the life of an animal, feel like an unperson to be
thrown away from grace and roam for her basic
maintenance somewhere else. She is entitled in law
to lead a life in the similar manner as she would
have lived in the house of her husband. That is
where the status and strata come into play, and that
is where the obligations of the husband, in case of a
wife, become a prominent one. In a proceeding of
this nature, the husband cannot take subterfuges to
deprive her of the benefit of living with dignity.
Regard being had to the solemn pledge at the time
of marriage and also in consonance with the
statutory law that governs the field, it is the
obligation of the husband to see that the wife does
not become a destitute, a beggar. A situation is not
to be maladroitly created whereunder she is
compelled to resign to her fate and think of life
“dust unto dust”. It is totally impermissible. In fact,
it is the sacrosanct duty to render the financial
support even if the husband is required to earn
money with physical labour, if he is able bodied.
There is no escape route unless there is an order
from the Court that the wife is not entitled to get
maintenance from the husband on any legally
permissible grounds.”
What is
required to be seen is that the status of the parties, their
respective needs, the capacity of the husband to pay having
regard to his reasonable expenses for his own maintenance and
of those he is obliged under the law. Undoubtedly, the
documents relied upon by the Petitioner-wife show very strong
financial capacity of the Respondent which could not have been
ignored by the family Court while considering the grant of interim
maintenance. Even assuming for the sake of moment, income
tax returns of the Petitioner wife disclose that she is having
independent source of income, the same is not commensurate
with that of the husband. The Petitioner wife is entitled to lead
the standard of life similar to that of the husband.
18. Taking totality of the facts and circumstances of the
case into consideration especially the deposits and withdrawals
of amounts by the Respondent as disclosed from the bank
statement and debit card statements and statement made by the
Respondent in his reply in the DV Act proceedings, in my opinion,
the ends of justice would be met if the Respondent is directed to
pay to the Petitioner interim maintenance @ Rs.1 lac per month
from the date of the impugned order.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION NO. 8825 OF 2014
Mrs. Amee Sharan Desai,
Versus
Mr. Sharan Sanjeev Desai,
Coram : RANJIT MORE, J.
Dated : 23rd August, 2016.
https://www.lawweb.in/2016/08/whether-interim-maintenance-granted-to.html
