NAVNEET SINGH Vs. SHALINI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present revision petition, filed by the petitioner-husband, is directed against the order dated 24.07.2014 (Annexure P1), passed by the Addl.District Judge, Kurukshetra, whereby a sum of 10,000.00 per month was fixed as interim maintenance from the date of the application and 10,000.00 as litigation expenses.

(2.) A perusal of the paperbook would go on to show that the parties were married on 12.10.2011 at Jind and separated on 26.05.2013. The respondent-wife filed the petition under Sec. 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (for short, the 'Act'), for dissolution of marriage and the issues framed vide the impugned order were that the petitioner-husband has treated the respondent wife with cruelty, physically and mentally, for which, she was entitled for decree of divorce. In the said proceedings, the application under Sec. 24 of the Act, claiming maintenance @ 30,000.00 per month besides litigation expenses of 11,000.00, was filed. The defence of the petitioner-husband was that the wife is working as Assistant Professor at Bahadurgarh and was getting more than 30,000.00 per month and was gainfully employed and there was negligible difference between their income.

(3.) The Trial Court noticed that the husband was a Dental Surgeon and was running his clinic at Bahadurgarh. Due to the matrimonial dispute, he had closed it down and therefore, came to the conclusion that he has potential capacity to earn and despite the fact that the wife was earning 30,000.00 per month, litigation expenses were fixed at 10,000.00 apart from 10,000.00 per month as interim maintenance, by placing reliance upon the judgments of the Delhi High Court in Jyotsna Sofat Vs. Gaurav Sofat 2011 (2) MLJ 701 (Delhi) and the judgment of this Court in Rajiv Malhotra Vs. Smt. Abha Malhotra 2009 (1) MLJ 261