HC upholds Rs 3 cr compensation, Rs 1.5 lakh maintenance to woman in domestic violence case
Mumbai, Mar 26: The Bombay High Court has upheld a trial court order directing a husband to pay a Rs 3-crore compensation and monthly maintenance of Rs 1.5 lakh to his estranged wife, observing a factor that can be considered for deciding the payout quantum is the impact of acts of domestic violence on the aggrieved person.
The amount is granted to the woman as a recompense not only for physical injuries but also mental torture and emotional distress, noted Justice Sharmila Deshmukh in her March 22 order in the domestic violence case.
"For obvious reasons there cannot be a straight jacket formula applicable to all and the quantum will differ according to the facts of each case. In my view, while determining the quantum of compensation, one of the factors which can be considered is the impact of the acts of domestic violence on the aggrieved person," the HC observed.
Justice Sharmila held that the trial court's finding was based on discussion that there were continuous acts of domestic violence from 1994 to 2017, which cannot be faulted with.
The couple tied the knot in Mumbai in January 1994 and later moved to the USA, where, too, they performed a marriage ceremony.
In 2005, the duo returned to the metropolis and started living in a house jointly owned by them. However, in 2008, the wife moved to her mother's house, while the husband went back to the US in 2014.
In July 2017, the woman filed a case against her husband under provisions of the Domestic Violence Act (DVA) before a metropolitan magistrate's court. The woman alleged that during their honeymoon, the husband called her "second hand" over her previous broken engagement.
In the USA, she was subjected to continuous acts of domestic violence, such as suspicion on her character, making false allegations of illicit relationships with other men and beating her up till she confessed for the same, the woman alleged.
The trial court noted the evidence of the woman as regards incidents of domestic violence which were corroborated by her mother, brother and uncle.
In its order passed in January 2023, the trial court held that the woman was subjected to domestic violence at the hands of her husband and directed him to pay Rs 3 crore as a compensation to her.
It ordered the man to find a suitable accommodation - a residential flat of at least 1,000 square feet carpet area - for his wife in Mumbai's Dadar area or alternatively pay Rs 75,000 towards house rent.
He was also directed to return all jewellery ('stridhan') and other belongings to the woman and pay her Rs 1,50,000 per month towards maintenance.
Aggrieved by the trial court's order, the man filed a revision petition in the HC.
The single bench judge, while upholding the trial court's order, said the compensation is to be granted for the injuries, including mental torture and emotional distress, caused by the acts of the person (accused).
It was of view that although the abuse will necessarily result in mental torture and emotional distress for the aggrieved person, the gravity will differ from person to person.
"In the present case, admittedly both the parties are well educated and highly placed in their workplace and in social life. That being the social standing, the acts of domestic violence would be greatly felt by the woman as it would affect her self worth," the court noted.
The HC said that the woman has been subjected to physical, economic, mental and emotional abuse and has to reside with her mother for nine years. The husband left the woman and went to the USA without making any provision for her.
The bench noted that the magistrate has granted the compensation considering the entire facts and circumstances and decided the quantum by considering the status of the parties and income.
The trial court came to its finding based on the discussion that there were continuous acts of domestic violence from 1994 to 2017, which cannot be faulted with, the HC said.
"I don't find any reason in exercise of revisional jurisdiction of this court, to interfere with the impugned judgment and order. Revision application stands dismissed," the HC judge added.
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Rupee settles 1 paisa higher to close at 94.15 against US dollar
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee settled with gains of just one paisa to close at 94.15 against the US dollar on Monday, as rising global uncertainty, escalating tensions in West Asia and soaring crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiments.
Forex traders said the INR/USD pair pared its initial losses, but the overall bias remains negative as FII sell-off and elevated crude oil prices restricted the gains for the local unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 94.25 against the US dollar, and touched an intraday high of 94.11 and a low of 94.28 against the greenback during the day.
At the end of Monday's trading session, the rupee was quoted at 94.15, registering a gain of just 1 paisa over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee extended its losing streak for the fifth day in a row, depreciating 15 paise to close at 94.16 against the US dollar.
"The rupee snapped a five-session losing streak, rebounding in tandem with a rally across regional currencies. However, the mood remains apprehensive as the market braces for a potential RBI intervention around 94.30 and higher crude oil prices," said Dilip Parmar – Senior Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.
On the charts, the USDINR pair has reclaimed its upward momentum, carving out a classic bullish structure of higher highs and lows on the daily time frame, he said, adding that for the coming sessions, 93.80 serves as a support, with 94.40 acting as the primary hurdle.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.21 per cent at 98.32.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 2.36 per cent at USD 107.82 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 639.42 points to settle at 77,303.63, while the Nifty surged 194.75 points to 24,092.70.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 1,151.48 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, India's forex reserves jumped by USD 2.362 billion to USD 703.308 billion during the week ended April 17, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday.
In the previous reporting week, the forex kitty had increased by USD 3.825 billion to USD 700.946 billion.
