Man told to pay maintenance

A Delhi court has asked a man to pay a monthly maintenance of Rs. 10,000 to his estranged wife and two minor daughters, saying that being an able-bodied man, he has "the legal and moral duty" to maintain them.

A Delhi court has asked a man to pay a monthly maintenance of Rs. 10,000 to his estranged wife and two minor daughters, saying that being an able-bodied man, he has "the legal and moral duty" to maintain them.

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The court ordered the man to pay the amount, saying the persons involved in such cases do not disclose their real incomes and, in this case too, the husband appears to have done so.

"Unfortunately, in India, parties do not truthfully reveal their incomes. For self-employed persons or persons employed in the unorganised sector, truthful incomes never suffice. Therefore, in determining the interim maintenance, there cannot be mathematical exactitude... The man is a self-employed person

and it appears that he has not disclosed his true income," metropolitan magistrate Priya Mahendra said.

The court directed the man, a resident of Hamidpur village, to pay Rs. 5,000 per month to his estranged wife and give another Rs. 5,000 per month to his two daughters, considering that he is the owner of a number of plots of land and it is not possible for him to maintain such properties without having good income.