A magistrate has ordered a chartered accountant based in the UK to pay arrears of Rs. 43 lakhs of interim maintenance to his bedridden wife in a domestic violence case she has filed against him.
It said that she is entitled to maintenance from the date of her application before it in August 2019 and that from then, his arrears of 36 months come to Rs. 43.20 lakhs. It however showed consideration towards the man and said that asking him to pay the amount in one stroke would be an injustice and asked him to pay Rs. 1.20 lakhs that it had fixed as her interim monthly maintenance and an additional Rs. 1 lakh from the arrears of the past months.
The man had shown his income as nil and said he depends on his family. Metropolitan Magistrate PK Raut said this appears “unbelievable” as he has shown his education as a CA. The court also noted that he is based in a costly part of the world. The wife had filed documents claiming that he earns Rs. 5 lakhs monthly. “It is not believable that the qualified respondent residing and working in the UK has no income of his own,” it said in the order.
It directed the man to pay Rs. 1.20 lakhs as interim maintenance to his wife for her personal needs including her medical expenses. It had noted that she is bedridden and has no income of her own and is residing at the mercy of her parents. It said it is his primary duty to at least provide her money.
After marriage in 2016, the couple had settled in London. The wife complained in her application that just two months after the marriage, she was subjected to cruelty by the husband and his family. She suffered from a medical condition in Feb 2017 that left her bedridden. The doctor said, she stated in her plea, that the condition could have resulted due to extreme stress. She claimed her medical and other expenses by way of documents as Rs. 2.08 lakhs as maintenance and had sought Rs. 3 crores as compensation.
.png)
