A man, working in Australia, has been directed to pay Rs one lakh as monthly interim maintenance to his estranged wife and minor son by a Delhi court, which said he was "legally bound" to maintain them.
"From the income affidavit of the respondent (man), it is clear that he is not maintaining anyone else than him. He is legally bound to maintain his wife and minor son," Metropolitan Magistrate Vandana Jain said.
The court said that since the admitted income of the man was Rs 2.2 lakh per month, hence Rs one lakh per month is fixed as interim maintenance for the complainant (wife) as well as their son from the date of filing of the complaint.
During the course of arguments, the woman had alleged that her husband and in-laws used to torture her physically and mentally and demanded a luxury car and a flat from her.
The husband has, however, refuted the charge of torture and claimed to have spent about Rs 16 lakh on his wife and buying her valuable gifts and jewellery.
"In view of the allegations made in the complaint, I am of the prima facie view that complainant is aggrieved person and is entitled to relief under these facts," the magistrate said.
The court took note of the fact that the man had done B.Tech in Electrical Engineering and completed his Masters in Applied Information Technology and stated that his salary was Australian Dollar (AUD) 4,275 or about Rs 2.2 lakh a month.
The complainant has however claimed that her husband was getting annual salary of AUD 65,500 but it was not clear from his salary slip whether it was for gross or monthly salary.
The woman has claimed that she was in a teaching job for nine months and but was currently unemployed.
