Maintenance laws in India are completely flawed against the Men. Duration in marriage has no significance and even if a woman is married for one day, she is entitled to maintenance for life under Section 125 CrPC (unless she remarries or without any charged against husband proven).
In a case reported from Karnataka in November 2022, a senior citizen man – who married for companionship – was asked to pay maintenance to his wife, after the marriage broke down in one month.
Case:
Suresh (name changed) got married to Latha (name changed) in March 2020 and the duo started living together in April 2020. While Suresh, an LIC agent, was 64-years-old then, while Latha was 58. The man was seeking partnership at this stage of life and thus decided to tie the knot. However, the marriage broke down within a month and both parted ways in May 2020.
Latha applied for divorce and was awarded interim maintenance of Rs 7,000 per month by the family court. Later, she withdrew the divorce petition, however, her maintenance order sustained.
Submission by Husband
Suresh challenged this maintenance order in the high court claiming that the wife had deserted and neglected him and thus, she was not eligible for maintenance amount. The husband also submitted that he was still “ready and willing to welcome the respondent-wife back and lead a happy married life.”
Argument by Wife
The wife however contended:
Though I stayed for a month with the petitioner it became impossible for me to live with him as he was constantly harassing me.
Karnataka High Court
Justice M Nagaprasanna of the Karnataka High Court heard arguments from both sides and remarked that the wife withdrawing the petition for divorce was of no consequence to the case of maintenance.
Clarifying that a woman is entitled to maintenance so long as she remains legally wedded wife, the Judge said,
So long as the respondent remains a legally wedded wife of the petitioner and the fact that she has been deserted by the husband, interim maintenance is a matter of right to the wife.
Finding no error with the lower court order, the Judge said,
The lower court judge had applied his mind to the issues before him and by balancing the right of both the petitioner and the respondent has rewarded a sum of Rs 7,000 to be paid to the respondent as interim maintenance.
Justice M Nagaprasanna also justified reasons for not interfering with the lower court order. He said,
…Though the husband says he is willing to live with her he has not taken any action in that regard. It said he cannot take exception to the lower court order merely because the petitioner is ready and willing to take her back.
If that be so, the petitioner could have preferred a petition for restitution of conjugal rights, which he has not preferred till date.
Husband had also contested the quantum awarded to the estranged wife, claiming he did not have sufficient income at this age. Wife, in her application for maintenance, had submitted that her husband owned more than five acres of land that he had inherited from family. To this the court said,
The amount of maintenance awarded is Rs 7,000. The Court while awarding such maintenance has taken note of the fact that the petitioner and the respondent both are senior citizens.
Upholding the maintenance order, the Karnataka High Court concluded,
So long as the respondent remains the wife, it is the duty of the petitioner to maintain the wife.
Respective ages for husband and estranged wife were 66 and 60 as on November 2022.
VFMI Take:
- Women have made a mockery of maintenance laws, particularly because laws are completely favoured in the hands of one gender (wife)
- Every other country in the world, looks at duration in marriage, number of kids, and has a fixed timeline to conclude merits of the case, thereby allowing and not allowing alimony
- In India, women rights activists have fooled the system by pushing for more and more gender biased laws, by selectively quoting laws from the west
- In the bargain, married men have been turned into puppets at the hands of the court, where maintenance/alimony has been forced upon them, without single charge of domestic abuse against them being proven
- Going by the pace of our justice system, interim maintenance once awarded, may continue for next 5-10-15 years, and even if the case is found to be false and motivated, there is no refund or no repercussions for women who file false cases
- This is nothing, but pure, legal extortion of married men, trashing the concept of equality in the bin, as and how it suits the feminists
LEAVE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS CASE BELOW:
'Senior Citizen' Husband Duty Bound To Pay Lifelong Maintenance Even If Wife Filed For Divorce Within One Month Of Marriage: Karnataka HC
▪️Man(64) married Woman(58) for companionship
▪️Wife filed divorce in 1Month,got maintenance,later withdrew divorcehttps://t.co/YyB37Jfgln— Voice For Men India (@voiceformenind) January 27, 2023
MUST WATCH:
Justice S N Dhingra | Former Delhi High Court Judge | Marital Rape | Men Welfare Trust | Sifar
Join our Facebook Group or follow us on social media by clicking on the icons below
If you find value in our work, you may choose to donate to Voice For Men Foundation via Milaap OR via UPI: voiceformenindia@hdfcbank (80G tax exemption applicable)
Follow Us
