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.
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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.
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