Court directs man to pay Rs 50 k interim alimony to wife

Choosing Switzerland as honeymoon destination proved costly for a businessman who has been asked to pay Rs 50,000 per month as interim maintenance to his estranged wife by a Delhi court which refused to believe that he was earning only Rs 2.1 lakh annually.
The court also restrained the Delhi-based man and his family members from communicating with his estranged wife in any manner and also prevented them from committing any cruelty towards her.
"He (man) maintains an account in HDFC bank and went for his honeymoon to Switzerland and once even visited Nigeria. The version of respondent (man) that he travels to his workplace in public transport or with his brother is not believable especially considering that the high-end cars Honda Civic 1.8, Hyundai Verna, Hyundai i20 Sports are maintained by the parents, siblings and in the name of business run by them...

"In view of the overall facts and circumstances of this case, clearly, the respondent no. 1 is earning about Rs one lakh per month and thus, the applicant is entitled for interim maintenance and/ including rent towards the alternative accommodation at Rs 50,000 per month, being the sole dependent upon the respondent no. 1," the metropolitan magistrate said.
The court rejected the man's claim that he was paying a rent of Rs 8,000 per month for his office saying that this was "not believable" as the premises from where he was running his business was owned by his brother.
It also said that the woman has claimed that her husband did her MBA from England and to rebut her claim, the man did not produce his educational qualification certificate.

The court's order came on the woman's plea seeking Rs one lakh alimony per month from her estranged husband apart from other monetary expenses.
The woman said she got married in March 2011 and she stayed with her husband till March, 2013.