Holding that a software engineer is not justified in claiming that he cannot pay even Rs. 15,000 a month towards interim maintenance to his wife and girl child, the Madras High Court Bench here has directed one such engineer to pay arrears of Rs. 4 lakh within three months or lose his defence in the maintenance proceedings initiated by his wife before a lower court.
Justice S. Nagamuthu passed the order while allowing a revision case filed by the engineer challenging an ex-parte award passed by a Judicial Magistrate at Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district on May 31, 2012, directing him to pay a monthly maintenance of Rs. 20,000 to his wife and child.
The judge observed that the matter required rehearing since the award had been passed ex-parte.
However, holding the engineer responsible for not having contested the case before the Magistrate despite getting two chances to do so, the judge said that rehearing could be ordered only if he paid arrears of interim maintenance at the rate of Rs. 15,000 a month since May 2012.
He also recorded the petitioner’s submission that he earned Rs. 35,000 a month and not Rs. 50,000 as claimed by his wife.
“Having regard to the fact that the petitioner is a software engineer and going by the normal earnings of a software engineer in a private company and all other attendant circumstances, I deem it appropriate to direct the petitioner to pay a sum of Rs. 8,000 a month to the first respondent (wife) and Rs. 7,000 to the second respondent (child) as interim maintenance,” the judge added.
Stating that the revision petitioner would get a chance to oppose the maintenance petition during its rehearing only if he paid the arrears and not otherwise, the judge directed the Magistrate to complete the rehearing and pass final orders before August this year.
HC directs him to pay arrears of Rs. 4 lakh within three months or lose his defence
in the maintenance proceedings
