SC: Husband's salary to be cut by 50% for maintenance
In an interim judgement, the Supreme Court of India has directed a husband’s employer to deduct Rs 25,000 from his monthly salary and send it directly to his estranged wife via RTGS as maintenance for her and their minor child.
As reported by Livelaw news network, a bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan issued this order after observing that the husband had not complied with earlier maintenance payment orders and had not provided any support even though he had been living apart from his wife since 2022.
Also read: Husband asked to return 40 sovereigns of gold and pay Rs 4,000 monthly maintenance by Kerala HC while it rejected Rs 5 lakh counter-claim
Background facts which led to this dispute
The mother looks after their four-year-old daughter, and she has been living apart from him for quite a while now. She claims that he hasn’t contributed any money for their minor daughter’s upkeep and hadn’t even seen her in the last four years.
The Supreme Court had earlier referred them for mediation to see if they could agree on a lump-sum amount to end the marriage. As an interim order, the court instructed him to deposit Rs 25,000 for her and their daughter’s travel costs to attend the mediation sessions. However, the court noted that he failed to dollow this interim order.
Additionally, the magistrate court in 2024 had passed an interim maintenance order, and he has accumulated arrears of about Rs 1.38 lakh based on that ruling. In this context, the Supreme Court reviewed his financial affidavit, where he claimed to earn a monthly salary of Rs 50,000 and mentioned that he was experiencing financial difficulties.
As a result, the Supreme Court asked him whether he was willing to deposit Rs 2.5 lakh, inclusive of the arrears of interim maintenance. However, he refused to make any payment.
So, the Supreme Court said that given the situation, they had no choice but to order the husband’s employer to deduct Rs 25,000 from his monthly salary and transfer the amount via RTGS to his wife’s account.
The Supreme Court emphasized that it was particularly concerned about the welfare of the minor child. The court also noted that the mother was raising the child alone and was currently living with her uncle after the death of her father.
The case has been scheduled for April to check on compliance with the Court's directions.
As reported by Livelaw news network, a bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan issued this order after observing that the husband had not complied with earlier maintenance payment orders and had not provided any support even though he had been living apart from his wife since 2022.
Also read: Husband asked to return 40 sovereigns of gold and pay Rs 4,000 monthly maintenance by Kerala HC while it rejected Rs 5 lakh counter-claim
Background facts which led to this dispute
The mother looks after their four-year-old daughter, and she has been living apart from him for quite a while now. She claims that he hasn’t contributed any money for their minor daughter’s upkeep and hadn’t even seen her in the last four years.
The Supreme Court had earlier referred them for mediation to see if they could agree on a lump-sum amount to end the marriage. As an interim order, the court instructed him to deposit Rs 25,000 for her and their daughter’s travel costs to attend the mediation sessions. However, the court noted that he failed to dollow this interim order.
Additionally, the magistrate court in 2024 had passed an interim maintenance order, and he has accumulated arrears of about Rs 1.38 lakh based on that ruling. In this context, the Supreme Court reviewed his financial affidavit, where he claimed to earn a monthly salary of Rs 50,000 and mentioned that he was experiencing financial difficulties.
As a result, the Supreme Court asked him whether he was willing to deposit Rs 2.5 lakh, inclusive of the arrears of interim maintenance. However, he refused to make any payment.
So, the Supreme Court said that given the situation, they had no choice but to order the husband’s employer to deduct Rs 25,000 from his monthly salary and transfer the amount via RTGS to his wife’s account.
The Supreme Court emphasized that it was particularly concerned about the welfare of the minor child. The court also noted that the mother was raising the child alone and was currently living with her uncle after the death of her father.
The case has been scheduled for April to check on compliance with the Court's directions.
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