Findings of cruelty against wife can't be basis to deny her maintenance: Delhi HC
New Delhi, Jan 22: The Delhi High Court has held that findings of cruelty against a wife in divorce proceedings cannot be the basis to deny her maintenance by husband under the Domestic Violence Act.
The high court's observation came while dealing with a plea by a woman challenging a sessions court's order which had set aside a magisterial court's order directing her 65-year-old estranged husband to pay her Rs 1 lakh monthly maintenance. The sessions court had remanded it back to the magisterial court for adjudication.
" in my considered view, the findings of cruelty against the wife in the divorce proceedings, by itself cannot be the basis to deny maintenance to the wife under the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act," Justice Amit Bansal said.
The high court placed reliance on several judgments passed by the Supreme Court in which it was observed that even if there is a finding of cruelty against the wife, it cannot by itself be a ground for denying maintenance and that there is no bar of cruelty in the right of the wife to claim maintenance.
It was also held by the apex court in one of the judgments that even if divorce has been granted on the grounds of desertion by the wife, this cannot be a ground to deny maintenance to her.
The high court was dealing with a submission of the husband in which he relied on the findings in the judgement of divorce granted in his favour by the family court on grounds of cruelty and desertion by the wife.
The high court set aside the sessions court's order saying that instead of adjudicating and returning a finding on several issues, the appellate court simply remanded the matter back to the trial court without giving any reasons or justification.
"The order of remand is completely cryptic and without giving any reasons justifying the remand," it said.
On the sessions court's finding that the son had already attained the age of majority and thus, no relief could be granted to him, the high court said that the sessions court failed to take into account that the trial court had granted maintenance from 2009 to 2016 and for a large part of this period, the son of the parties, even though he had attained the age of majority, was still pursuing his studies.
"The obligation of a father towards his child does not end when the child attains majority even though he is still pursuing his studies," it said.
"It is unfortunate that in the present case, the complaint was filed in the year 2009 and almost 14 years have elapsed and the wife has not been granted any interim maintenance other than the sum of Rs 10 lakh paid by the husband pursuant to the order passed by this court. Accordingly, even though I am remanding the matter to the appellate court to decide the appeal on merits, it is deemed appropriate that an amount of interim maintenance is fixed by this Court pending the adjudication of the appeal on merits," Justice Bansal said.
The high court asked the man to pay Rs 50,000 per month to the wife as interim maintenance from December 16, 2009 when the complaint under the DV Act was filed till November 1, 2019 when the order was passed by the sessions court.
The sum of Rs 10 lakh already paid by the man to the woman shall be deducted from the amount, it said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
