The Madras High Court Bench here has directed a former employee of the Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) central office in New Delhi to pay Rs.16,000 every month to his estranged wife and two minor children towards their maintenance since he admitted to have received a gift of Rs.14 lakh from the party when he left the job in 2005.
Dismissed case
Dismissing a revision case filed by the former employee, now living in Aruppukottai in Virudhunagar district, Justice M. Sathyanarayanan held that the award of Rs.3,000 a month to the petitioner’s wife and Rs. 6,500 each to his minor daughter and son studying in Class XII and VII respectively by a Judicial Magistrate could not be termed as exorbitant.
The judge pointed out that though the petitioner had initiated divorce proceedings on the ground of adultery after accusing his wife of maintaining an illicit intimacy with her sister’s husband, his wife had actually insisted on living together by filing a petition for restitution of conjugal rights.
She was also taking care of the children and their school education.
Further, since the petitioner had not taken any steps to seek custody of the children, the judge held that he was bound to pay maintenance amount to them as well as his wife.
