SC Orders Man To Pay ₹2.6 Crore, Monthly Maintenance To Wife

Man to maintenance to wife: The Supreme Court on Friday said that a husband cannot abdicate the responsibility of paying maintenance to estranged wife.

They gave a man one last opportunity to clear the entire amount of 2.6 crore rupees, along with a monthly payout of 1.75 lakh rupees to his wife. If he fails to comply he will be imprisoned. The wife had filed a case under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act.

The man claimed to have been working on a project of national security in the telecom sector. He stated he had no money, and sought two years to pay the amount. The Supreme Court however said that he lost his credibility after repeatedly failing to follow the court’s order.

A bench of Chief Justice Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian told the man that, “Husband cannot abdicate from his responsibility to provide maintenance to his wife and it is his duty to provide the maintenance.”

The Supreme Court listed the matter after a period of four weeks to see whether the order has been complied with. "In case the amount is not paid, orders of arrest and imprisonment may be passed against the respondent on that date".

From 2009, his required payment has amounted to approximately 2.6 crore rupees, out of which only 50,000 rupees has been paid. The bench told advocate Rohit Sharma, appearing for the husband, that he has not complied with even a single order of the courts and if he does not make the payments within two-three weeks, he will be sent to jail.