A Delhi court has refused to set aside ₹4,000 maintenance awarded to a woman from her estranged husband in a domestic violence case, saying it was not harsh considering the cost of living in the city.
The court pronounced the order while dismissing the plea of a man against a magisterial court verdict directing him to pay the amount to his wife as monthly maintenance.
“Keeping in view the cost of living index in metropolitan cities like Delhi, ₹4,000 per month awarded to the respondent [the wife] by the Metropolitan Magistrate cannot be held to be unjust or harsh,” Additional Sessions Judge Lokesh Kumar Sharma said.
The court also rejected his claim of having no income and that his parents and minor daughter were dependent on him.
“I find it to be a very funny ground that despite claiming to be having no income, the appellant [husband] is claiming his parents and his minor daughter being dependent upon him,” the judge observed.
“It is settled preposition of law that an able-bodied man is presumed to be capable of maintaining his wife and other family members as per the status enjoyed by him in the society,” the judge added.
