Court opines Rs 5K monthly interim maintainence is not sufficient in a city like Delhi

A court here has denied to set aside an order directing a man to pay Rs 5,000 monthly interim maintenance to his estranged wife in a domestic violence case. The court says that the amount will not give her a luxurious life in view of the standard of living in metropolitan cities like Delhi.

"Keeping in view the standard of living in metropolitan cities like Delhi, I am of the considered view that with an amount of Rs 5,000 per month, the respondent (wife) would only be able to meet her basic and minimum needs and she cannot be considered to be leading a luxurious life with such an amount, as awarded by the Metropolitan Magistrate (MM).

"Hence, I do not find any illegality or infirmity in the impugned order as passed by the MM," Additional Sessions Judge Lokesh Kumar Sharma said, while dismissing the man's appeal.

The judge also rejected his contention that he was unemployed for over a year, saying, "I do not find any merit in the submission as it is the settled proposition of law that every able bodied person is considered to be fit to maintain his wife and children."

A magisterial court had on January 16, 2015 granted a monthly interim maintenance of Rs 5,000 in favour of the woman, who had lodged a domestic violence complaint against her estranged husband.

The man, in his appeal, had alleged that the woman had filed a false case in order to extort money from him and that she herself was earning nearly Rs 20,000 per month.

The court dismissed the man's plea but directed that if the woman ultimately fails to qualify on merits during trial, "then, without prejudice to further rights and contentions of the parties, she shall be liable to refund the entire amount so received by her from the man towards interim maintenance."