Man sent to Mumbai jail for not paying maintenance to wife and sons

The man had paid ₹6.45 lakh till March 21, but his wife’s counsel argued that the total arrears till March 2021 was ₹12.9 lakh

A man was sent to Arthur Road jail for six months’ simple imprisonment after he failed to pay maintenance to his wife and two sons, despite court orders. In October 2019, the Bombay high court (HC) had found the man guilty of contempt of court and directed Pune Police to arrest him.

The husband, who is a fitness instructor, was directed to pay a monthly amount of ₹15,000 to the wife, ₹10,000 to each of the sons and ₹8,000 for rent. (HT File)

However, as the police failed to comply, the wife had approached the court on March 12.

The division bench of justice RD Dhanuka and justice VG Bisht, while hearing the contempt petition filed by the wife, was informed by advocate SN Biradar that even though she had reminded the police of the court order in November 2019, they failed to comply. Biradar further informed the court that in May 2020, when the Supreme Court had upheld the HC’s arrest order, the wife had written to the police in January 2021, but as they had failed to arrest the husband, she had to approach HC again.

In 2018, the wife had approached HC, seeking maintenance for herself, her two sons and rent for the house the three lived in. The husband, who is a fitness instructor, was directed to pay a monthly amount of ₹15,000 to the wife, ₹10,000 to each of the sons and ₹8,000 for rent. However, as the husband failed to abide by the order, the wife had filed a contempt petition. In 2019, the court was convinced that the man intentionally failed to pay the amount and passed the arrest order.

On March 25, the man moved an application in HC through his counsel, seeking suspension of the sentence as he had handed over a demand draft of ₹5.45 lakh in his wife’s name to her counsel in the court. The man’s counsel submitted that he has already paid ₹1 lakh in addition to this amount to the applicant. However, his wife’s counsel argued that the total arrears till March 2021 was ₹12.9 lakh and not ₹6.45 lakh.

After hearing the submissions, the bench observed, “The judgment delivered by this court on 11/10/2019 thereby directing respondent no 1 [husband] be sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment in civil prison for six months and be taken into custody and be sent to Arthur Road Prison has attained finality.”

In light of this, the court directed Dighi police to arrest the husband within a week.

On Monday, the police submitted a compliance report to the court stating that they had arrested the husband on March 16 and sent him to jail.

The man has filed an interim application seeking the suspension of the sentence awarded to him, which the court will hear on March 31.