POONAM Vs. VIRENDER CHAUHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition, under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, for enhancement of the amount of maintenance pendente-lite and litigation expenses, is directed against the order passed by the learned District Judge (Forest), Shimla on 19.5.2014 whereby the application under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act (for short 'Act') filed by the petitioner-wife for grant of maintenance pendentelite and litigation expenses has been allowed thereby awarding the amount of maintenance pendente-lite to the tune of Rs.2,500/- per month from the date of filing of the application and Rs.5,000/- as litigation expenses.

(2.) The facts, in brief, are that the respondent herein, filed a petition under Section 13 of the Act for grant of decree of divorce against the petitioner-wife, which is pending before the Court below. The petitioner-wife is presently residing in Kurukshetra University in Girls'Hostel for pursuing her studies of Ph.D. The petitioner has submitted that she has no source of income and her mother is providing necessary financial assistance for pursuing her studies and in order to defend the divorce petition she needs maintenance pendente-lite at the rate of Rs.20,000/- per month and a sum of Rs. 35,000/- as litigation expenses. She also submitted that the respondent-husband is having sufficient means for providing maintenance allowance and litigation expenses to her.

(3.) The respondent-husband resisted and contested the application by filing reply in which he has submitted that the instant application is not maintainable and the petitioner-wife is also estopped to file this application on account of her acts, conduct, deeds etc. He has denied that the petitioner-wife needs maintenance allowance and litigation expenses as claimed by her. He also denied that he is having sufficient means to provide her maintenance allowance and litigation expenses. According to him, he arranged for job and rented accommodation at Kurukshetra at the instance of the petitioner-wife, who wanted to pursue her studies at Kurukshetra, but he was compelled to resign his job as the petitioner-wife did not accompany him nor she lived with him. He further submitted that he has also no source of income because of the compelling circumstances created by the petitioner-wife. The respondenthusband has stated that the petitioner-wife has been provided financial assistance by the UGC to the extent of Rs.40,000/- which fact she had suppressed from the Court below and he prayed for dismissal of the application.