RAJIV MALHOTRA Vs. ABHA MALHOTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CHALLENGE in the present petition is to the order passed by the learned court below in an application filed by the respondent under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (for short, 'the Act'), whereby a sum of Rs. 15,000/- per month as maintenance pendente lite has been awarded to the respondent-wife. The petitioner-husband is aggrieved of the order fixing the maintenance.

(2.) BRIEFLY , the facts are that the marriage between the parties was solemnised on 10.12.1999. A son was born out of the wedlock on 1.11.2000. Earlier a divorce petition was filed by the petitioner on 26.3.2004. However, in the proceedings arising therefrom, on intervention of this court, the parties started living together on 15.12.2004. However, still they could not pull on and separated on 26.11.2005. Fresh divorce petition was filed on 20.12.2005 by the petitioner in which the application for interim maintenance was filed by the respondent under Section 24 of the Act, which has been determined by the court below at Rs. 15,000/- per month.

(3.) THE submission of learned counsel for the petitioner is that presently, the petitioner is not keeping good health and his monthly income is merely Rs. 35,000/- per month in which he has to maintain himself and also his old parents. Besides this, the child who was born out of the wedlock is also living with the petitioner. He further submitted that in the petition filed by the respondent under Section 24 of the Act, the respondent admitted that earlier she was working as Medical Officer at monthly salary of Rs. 13,000/-. However, the job was left just to harass the petitioner so that she could claim more amount on account of maintenance. When she was well qualified and capable of working, she cannot be permitted to sit idle to be a burden on the petitioner. As far as income is concerned, it was denied that the petitioner was earning lacs of rupees from share business, rather, it was pleaded that the income was only to the tune of Rs. 25,000/- per month. As far as claim of the respondent regarding amount for pursuing her higher studies is concerned, the submission is that the petitioner is not liable to reimburse the same, as all what can be claimed in a petition under Section 24 of the Act is maintenance for comfortable living in terms of the income of other spouse and nothing more than that. He further submitted that after the filing of the divorce petition by the petitioner, FIR was registered against the petitioner and in anticipatory bail filed by the petitioner before this Court, in terms of the directions issued by this Court as a condition precedent in Crl. Misc. No. 28327-M of 2006, on 13.7.2006, a sum of Rs. 10,000/- was being paid by the petitioner to the respondent as maintenance. It was the amount which was agreed to by both the parties.