Woman seeks maintenance 15 yrs after separation; denied relief

A woman seeking maintenance from her estranged husband 15 years after their separation has been denied relief by a Delhi court, which said it requires an explanation as to how she maintained herself in the interim.
The woman had sought maintenance on the ground that she has always been a housewife and had to take care of herself and her 22-year-old unmarried daughter.
"... It is not explained by the petitioner (woman) as to how she sustained herself and her three children from 1987, when she separated from the respondent (estranged husband), till 2003 i.E. Till the time of filing of present petition," metropolitan magistrate Vandana Jain said.

"This fact requires an explanation but no reason has been put forth in the entire petition... It can be presumed that petitioner was well off and able to maintain herself as she did not claim maintenance from the respondent for a period of almost 15 years and that too with three children.
"Since the petitioner was not be able to prove how she sustained herself for 15 years and what made her file her case after 15 years, I am of the considered view that the essential ingredient of Section 125 CrPC (for seeking maintenance) i.E. she is not able to maintain herself does not stand proved," the court said.

It noted that the woman had married in 1976 and two daughters and a son were born from the wedlock.

She had alleged that after staying together for 11 years, her husband's attitude changed and he started living with another woman.
The man, however, denied the allegations and claimed that the petitioner had left him and started living with another man named Rajender. He admitted that he remarried in 1989 and had two children from the second marriage.
Relying on various evidence like the wedding invitation of her son, which mentioned her husband's name as Rajender, and the deposition of relatives of the petitioner, the court said, "Though this raises a doubt against her, it cannot be definitely concluded that she had married Rajender and is living with him.