Court sets aside ex-parte alimony order to professor

Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Kumar Jain set aside the magisterial court's order on plea by Professor Shahnawaz, the director of South and South East Asian Wing of UNIGIS International of Salzburg University of Austria, that he had received no summons form the magisterial court.

Allowing the professor's appeal, ASJ Jain remanded the matter back to the magisterial court for fresh consideration.

"On consideration of entire facts and circumstances as discussed, the impugned ex-parte order of granting maintenance to the respondent wife is set aside and matter is remanded back to the trial court for fresh consideration...," said the court and asked both the professor and his wife to appear before the trial court on August 16.

In an ex-parte order on October 7, 2011, the magisterial court had asked the professor to pay his 39-year-old, estranged wife, based here, a monthly alimony of Rs 1.5 lakh.

In his appeal, the professor said he did not get the summons because he was not in Austria, but was on a tour of south east Asia and substantiated his claim with entries on his passport.

He also added that there was no order of the trial court to serve him summons through e