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The richer you are, the more alimony you’ll have to pay Chandigarh, January 2 The woman in question will now get Rs 18 lakh annually, as the high court has ordered a monthly maintenance of Rs 1.50 lakh for a car, a house corresponding to her standing and other requirements. The verdict by Justice K. Kannan is significant as it is likely to be quoted as a precedent by alienated wives of the rich and the famous for enhancement of interim maintenance paid to them by their at-odds husbands. The verdict also makes it clear that maintenance is not just for subsistence but to also enable the estranged wife to live a life of dignity. In the order, Justice Kannan made it clear that Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act provides for interim maintenance and due consideration has to be given to the relative status of parties. The spouse’s individual paying capacity and the resources held by the party claiming maintenance also have to be taken into consideration. Justice Kannan added that in the case at hand, the status of the parties must be seen as persons belonging to the richer echelons; and if the wife must conduct herself with dignity as a person, she will have to be provided with private transport by car and must also have a house depicting her status. The judgment came in the case of an advocate couple from Ludhiana. The woman, through her counsel Ramdeep Partap Singh, contended that her husband was “very wealthy being a practitioner of law and also the owner of a four-star hotel at Ludhiana”.Ramdeep Partap Singh added the petitioner was herself a practicing lawyer, but gave up practice after marriage. After disharmony between her and her husband, she resumed practice and registered herself as a notary public, but was earning about Rs 10,000 a month. The husband, on the other hand, contended he was earning far less than claimed by his wife and his status did not permit him to pay more than the already excessive amount of Rs 30,000 a month granted by the court below. After hearing both sides, Justice Kannan added: “The husband after all has the opulence of running a business, which is a four-star hotel in one of the prominent cities of Punjab. A husband who could extend luxury to visiting guests to his hotel will do well to keep his wife a tad higher in her standard of living. Considering all these details, I am of the view that the maintenance paid at the rate of Rs 30,000 per month is not sufficient and it has to be raised to Rs 1.50 lakh a month as asked for.” The payment of the amount will take effect from the date of filing of the petition before the court below and the husband will not prosecute the case unless there is a compliance of the direction for payment of the past arrears and to continue to pay during the course of the proceedings, the judge said. Unprecedented order
* The judgment came in the case of an advocate couple from Ludhiana *
The petitioner, who had given up practice after marriage, resumed practice due to domestic disharmony, but could earn about ~10,000 a month as a notary public *
She contended that her husband was “very wealthy being a practitioner of law and also the owner of a four-star hotel” *
The court said the status of both parties had to be taken into consideration while calculating the interim amount.
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