High court upholds maintenance for kid born out of wedlock

The Bombay high court recently upheld the order of a Pune family court directing a 29-year-old man to pay Rs1,000 toward monthly maintenance to an eight-year-old boy born out of his illegitimate relationship with a woman, who had accused him of rape.

The Bombay high court recently upheld the order of a Pune family court directing a 29-year-old man to pay Rs1,000 toward monthly maintenance to an eight-year-old boy born out of his illegitimate relationship with a woman, who had accused him of rape.

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Justice Roshan Dalvi rejected the plea filed by Indrajeet Surve, a driver, challenging the family court order of July 12, 2011, contending that the child was illegitimate and sought to dispute his paternity.

Surve argued that the mother had filed a false case of rape against him with an intention to extort money and the trial court had acquitted him of the charge in November 2006.

The high court, however, rejected the challenge after finding that the child’s paternity had not been justifiably denied by him.

Surve had also challenged the quantum of the maintenance amount on grounds that it was exorbitant in view of his monthly income of Rs5,000 earned as a driver of a private vehicle.

On the other hand, the woman’s counsel, Pramod Pawar, pointed out that the 28-year-old unwed mother worked as a housemaid and the family court fixed the amount at Rs1,000 in view of statements made by Surve himself. Justice Dalvi refused to interfere with the family court order considering the amount was rather paltry and there was nothing erroneous about it.

Surve and the woman were reportedly in a relationship when she was residing at a village in Ratnagiri. The woman alleged that Surve made false promises of marriage and convinced her to maintain a physical relationship, and the child was born in February 2005. However, Surve later refused to marry the woman compelling her to lodge a complaint of rape.