Woman gets Rs 80,000 a month, flat as maintenance

A city court on Tuesday awarded a woman Rs 80,000 per month as maintenance, including expenses, for a well-furnished accommodation in the Capital.

A city court on Tuesday awarded a woman Rs 80,000 per month as maintenance, including expenses, for a well-furnished accommodation in the Capital. The woman’s husband had deserted her along with her 3-year-old girl child.

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Metropolitan Magistrate Surya Malik Grover said, “The amount of maintenance fixed should be such that the applicant (woman) can live in reasonable comfort”. The judge noted that the woman should not feel handicapped in the prosecution of her case.

The court noted that the applicant has no source of income, other than Rs 8,000 that she gets as rent for the house she owns jointly with her mother. “The said income is meagre and insufficient for her and her child’s expenses commensurate to their standard of living.”

Shelly and Sunny (names changed) married in November 2003. The couple moved to Dubai in August 2005. Sunny became vice-president of a reputed bank in Dubai with a salary of nearly Rs 6 lakh per month. In October 2007, Shelly’s father suffered a heart attack and she returned to Delhi with her daughter, then one. Meanwhile, Sunny deserted her and asked her to not return.

Defence counsel for Sunny contended that he is in a tight financial condition, and as such couldn’t afford such an amount. The court dismissed the defence’s contention and said the applicant has the right to live as per the standard of living of the parties. The court fixed Rs 25,000 per month maintenance for Shelly, Rs 30,000 for her daughter and Rs 25,000 for a well-furnished accommodation.