REMANI MENON Vs. K G OMNAKUTTAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The short facts of the case are that petitioner No.1 is the alleged wife and petitioner No.2 is the daughter born during the wedlock of petitioner No.1 and the respondent on 18-4-1988. The respondent husband is serving as Superintending Engineer (Production) in Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) It appears that the petitioner preferred petition in the Family Court for getting permanent maintenance of Rs.20,000/= per month and other reliefs alleging that the petitioner has no independent sources of income and the respondent has left the petitioner and her daughter. It is alleged in the application that the respondent husband is serving in ONGC on a very high post and the income of the respondent is about Rs.40,000/= per month as salary. The petitioner submitted in the said proceedings, an application Ex.4 for interim maintenance of the same amount of Rs.20,000/= per month and in the said interim application, the petitioner had also prayed for permanent injunction restraining the respondent husband from getting any amount under voluntary retirement scheme and also for prohibiting the ONGC from allowing the respondent to withdraw any amount from the provident fund, gratuity and other benefits. The learned Judge of the Family Court No.4 heard the application Ex.4 and has passed the order on 19-12-2001, whereby the application is partly allowed and it is ordered that the respondent shall pay an amount of Rs.2,500/= per month to the petitioner for the interim maintenance of her daughter Shruti from the date of filing of the application i.e. 15-12-2000 and the learned Judge has also ordered for payment of legal expenses of Rs.1,000/= to the petitioner for the expenses, incurred by her, being the guardian of the minor Shruti. The petitioners herein under these circumstances have approached this Court by preferring the present petition.

(2.) I have heard the learned Counsel appearing for the petitioners, Ms.Daxa Vyas and Mr.Majmudar, learned Counsel appearing for the respondent. Before I proceed to consider the other aspects of the case, it is required to be taken note of that when this petition came to be admitted on 16-4-2003 by this Court (Coram: Miss R.M.Doshit, J.), by interim order it was directed that the respondent shall pay interim maintenance at the rate of Rs.5,000/= p.m. to the minor daughter-Shruti every month and the said amount from the date of the order is being paid by the respondent to the petitioner as ordered by this Court.

(3.) The law on the question of quantum of maintenance is well settled in as much as it should commensurate with the status of the family of the husband. The respondent husband is holding the post of Superintending Engineer of ONGC and pursuant to the order passed by this Court, Mr.Majmudar, during the course of the hearing, had placed on record the salary slip for the month of May, 2003 (fax copy of the said salary slip is produced), which shows that Rs.44,529/= is the total salary payable to the respondent by ONGC. However, since the respondent husband has taken loan from CPF, for Car and Computer, the amount of deduction shown is of Rs.32,485/= and the net amount paid is shown as Rs.12,045/=. Of course, while considering the income of the husband, the deductions for the loans cannot be ignored, but at the same time, if the husband is to take loan for making investment, may be for construction of house or may be for car or for any other purpose and if such amount is deducted, naturally such amount of deduction cannot be said as not forming part of the income of the husband and, therefore, even on the basis of the pay-slip, which is produced by the respondent, it cannot be said that the income of the husband is, in any case, less than Rs.40,000/= per month.