Karnataka High Court
Mr. Monto Mani vs Mrs Geethanjali on 28 February, 2024
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WP No. 2402 of 2024
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU
DATED THIS THE 28TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2024
BEFORE
THE HON'BLE SMT. JUSTICE LALITHA KANNEGANTI
WRIT PETITION NO. 2402 OF 2024 (GM-FC)
BETWEEN:
MR. MONTO MANI,
S/O MR. T. P. MANI,
AGED ABOUT 50 YEARS,
RESIDING AT:
E27 QUARTERS,
IISC BENGALURU - 560 012.
...PETITIONER
(BY SRI. S. SATHYARTHY, ADVOCATE)
AND:
MRS. GEETHANJALI,
D/O S. SOORIAKUMARAN,
AGED ABOUT 48 YEARS,
RESIDING AT:
Digitally E27 QUARTERS,
signed by IISC BENGALURU - 560 012.
SUVARNA T ...RESPONDENT
Location:
HIGH (BY SRI. ARUN GOVINDARAJ, ADVOCATE)
COURT OF
KARNATAKA THIS WP IS FILED PRAYING TO SET ASIDE THE
IMPUGNED ORDER (ANNEXURE-A) DATED 05.12.2023 ON I.A
NO. 4 IN M.C. NO. 1465/2021, AS PASSED BY THE HONBLE I
ADDL. PRL. JUDGE, FAMILY COURT BENGALURU GRANTING INR
50,000/- (RUPEES FIFTY THOUSAND ONLY) AS INTERIM
MAINTENANCE TO THE RESPONDENT.
THIS PETITION, COMING IN THE FRESH MATTERS LIST,
THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING:
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WP No. 2402 of 2024
ORDER
The present Writ Petition is filed by the
petitioner/husband aggrieved by the interim order dated
05.12.2023 in M.C.No.1465/2021 by the I Additional
Principal Judge, Family Court, Bengaluru.
2. The marriage between the petitioner and
respondent was solemnized on 12.06.2000 and out of the
wedlock, they were blessed with a son on 27.10.2012.
The petitioner/husband has filed the petition seeking
divorce on the ground of cruelty in M.C.No.1465/2021 and
the respondent/wife has also filed a complaint against the
husband under section 498A of the IPC and the same is
registered as Crime No.11/2021. The Police after
conducting the investigation have filed the charge sheet
i.e., C.C.No.9778/2022. In the said petition for divorce,
I.A.No.4 is moved by the respondent/wife seeking
maintenance of an amount of Rs.83,600/-. It is the case
that both the petitioner and respondent are living in the
same house. The respondent/wife is taking care of the
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needs as per the statement filed before this Court. It is
stated that she is taking care of herself, her son and her
mother.
3. The Court below by way of impugned order dated
05.12.2023 had granted the interim monthly maintenance
of an amount of Rs.50,000/- from the date of application
till the disposal of the petition. When the matter came up
before a co-ordinate Bench of this Court on 05.02.2024,
this Court has passed the following order:
"Heard the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner
and respondent.
There shall be an interim order of stay, as prayed for
subject to the condition that the petitioner would pay
Rs.30,000/- during the pendency of this month till the
next date of hearing.
Learned counsel appearing for the respondent submits
that the petitioner is in arrears of Rs.9.5 lakhs as on
today at the rate of Rs.50,000/- that is granted by the
Court.
Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submits
that if 4 weeks time is granted, the arrears would stand
clear.
From today, the maintenance would be at Rs.30,000/- to
be paid to the wife subject to the result of the writ
petition.
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Arrears be positively paid by the next date of hearing,
failing which, the interim order granted will automatically
get vacated.
List this matter on 28.02.2024 in the 'fresh matters list'."
4. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner
submits that he has paid the arrears of the interim
maintenance as per the order passed by this Court. It is
the case of the respondent/wife that he is yet to pay an
amount of Rs.50,000/-. In response to that learned
counsel for the petitioner submits that it has been wrongly
calculated and the substantial amount of arrears are paid
by the petitioner. This Court is not inclined to go into that
aspect and if any amount is due to the respondent, as per
the order passed by this Court, the respondent/wife is
always at liberty to recover the same by filing an
Execution Petition.
5. The respondent/wife is working as a Senior
Editorial Assistant at Society for Innovation and
development, IISC on contractual basis and she is
drawing a salary of Rs.55,800/- after deduction of the
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income tax further she requires an amount of
Rs.83,600/-. Objections were filed by the
petitioner/husband wherein it is stated that for the school
fees, books, uniforms, tuitions and all the expenses of the
child, conveyance, provisions and groceries are taken care
of by him. When the respondent/wife is gainfully
employed and capable of taking care of herself, the
question of paying maintenance by the husband will not
arise. The Court below by the impugned order has granted
maintenance of an amount of Rs.50,000/- and while
granting the maintenance, the Court below has observed
that the husband is earning an amount of Rs.1,69,000/-,
which is more than the monthly income of the wife. The
respondent/wife is taking care of her mother who is
suffering from dementia and the amount available to her
is not enough to take care of her mother as well as her
minor son.
6. The Court below has observed that when the
husband has dragged the respondent/wife to the Court
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below, he is duty bound to maintain the wife and child till
the disposal of the petition. It is further observed that
considering the income of the petitioner, it is prima facie
evident that he is capable of maintaining the respondent
as well as the child. Thus, the Court below has granted an
amount of Rs.50,000/-. Aggrieved thereby, the
petitioner/husband is before this Court.
7. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner
submits that the husband is taking care of the needs of
the house and the son. According to him, when the
respondent is earning an amount of Rs.58,000/-, it is
sufficient for her to maintain herself. Learned counsel has
drawn the attention of this Court to Section 24 read with
Section 26 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and submits
that the wife herself is in a position to maintain herself
and the husband is taking care of the needs of the house.
The Court below without considering all these aspects has
granted the compensation to the wife and she is not
entitled.
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8. Learned Counsel has relied on the judgment
passed by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of
BHUSHAN KUMAR MEEN VS. MANSI MEEN @
HARPREET KAUR1 dated 28.04.2009. When the wife
is educated, working and earning an amount of
Rs.58,000/-, there is no reason that she is not in a
position to maintain herself has to be considered. He has
relied on the decision of the Delhi High Court in the case
of CHETRAM MALI VS. KARIHMA SAINI IN MAT
APP(FC) 196/20232, dated 21.11.2023. Learned
counsel submits that Section 24 read with 26 of the Hindu
Marriage Act, 1955 is gender neutral and provide for the
rights, liabilities and obligations arising from a marriage
between the parties under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
Learned counsel submits that the wife is already earning
monthly income which is there on the record and the
petitioner/husband has no obligation to maintain his
AIR ONLINE 2009 SC 407
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mother-in-law. Further, his parents are depending on him
and he has an obligation to maintain them. He does not
dispute the fact that he has been maintaining the mother-
in-law who suffered a brain stroke and suffering with
dementia and according to him, he has spent an amount
of Rs.25,00,000/- for her medical expenses.
9. Learned counsel appearing for the
respondent/wife submits that though she is educated, all
through she was not working as she was taking care of
the family and the husband was taking care of her and her
mother who was suffering with dementia and also suffered
a stroke. It is submitted that the wife is spending an
amount of Rs.55,000/- for her mother who is admitted in
the rehabilitation center where every need of the mother
has to be attended and constant attendant is required to
take care of her needs. Learned counsel for the
respondent submits that he has filed a memo before this
Court placing the Quash petition filed by the father of the
petitioner herein to quash the complaint registered under
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sections 498A of IPC, wherein he has stated that, right
from 1969 till 2017 in how many institutions he has
worked as a faculty which include Indian and abroad
universities. Then he has also drawn the attention of the
Court to the bail bonds which are executed by the mother
while the bail was granted to both the petitioner and the
father which shows that she is having landed property.
10. Learned counsel for the respondent also
submits that as per the statement filed by the petitioner,
they are having several landed properties and he has also
stated that he has been paying the EMI for the property
which is purchased by him. It is stated that the parents
have given him Rs.30,00,000/- for purchasing the
property. By relying on that learned counsel for the
respondent submits that parents of the petitioner are self
sufficient and not dependent upon him. He also submits
that when he has filed a statement before this Court
mentioning that they are dependents on him he also has
to mention the expenditure he is incurring for them. Once
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it is not mentioned, that cannot be considered by the
Court they are depending on the petitioner. He further
submits that there is no dispute about the fact that he has
been supporting the mother-in-law from several years.
The wife is the only child to her mother and she has every
responsibility to take care of her. He relying on the
judgment of the Hon'ble Apex Court in RAJNESH VS.
NEHA3 case submits that at para No.93, the Court has
observed that if there is serious disability of the spouse,
child/children from the marriage, dependent relative who
requires constant care and recurrent expenditure, it would
also be a relevant consideration while quantifying
maintenance. He submits that as admittedly the mother
has been taken care of by the petitioner and he has been
paying her medical bills and other amounts, at this
juncture he cannot withdraw the same. The mother is
dependent upon the respondent/wife and as she has to
maintain herself and her mother with the money she is
2020 SCC Online SC 903
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earning she cannot maintain and the Court below had
rightly granted the maintenance of an amount of
Rs.50,000/-. In response to that, learned counsel for the
petitioner submits that as per the judgment of the Apex
Court, the dependent do not mean mother- in-law and he
has no obligation to maintain her.
11. Having heard the learned counsel on either
side, perused the entire material on record. The
undisputed facts in this case are though a divorce petition
is filed, the wife and husband are still staying under one
roof and the husband all through was taking care of the
mother in law who was severely ill and spending huge
amounts for her treatment. Once the disputes started
between the parties and after filing the divorce petition, he
stopped taking care of her and according to the wife, she
is earning an amount of Rs.55,000/- and according to the
husband, she is earning an amount of Rs.58,000/-. As per
her statement, she requires an amount of Rs.83,600/-.
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12. During the course of arguments, learned
counsel for the petitioner has placed the particulars before
this Court to show that he has been paying the school
fees, uniforms, tuition etc. for the son. He submits that
for conveyance, wife has sought an amount of Rs.7,000/-.
She just stays in the campus and there is nothing to travel
and it is stated that he has been paying for the provisions
and groceries which has been denied by the respondent.
He submits that as she is the wife of an employee, she can
avail free medical services and for the miscellaneous
expense, she has shown an amount of Rs.10,000/- and for
travel and vacation another Rs.5,000/-. With all the
exorbitant figures she has arrived at an amount of
Rs.83,600/-.
13. The mother of the respondent/wife requires an
amount of Rs.50,000/-. If the respondent pays the
substantial amount for her mother, she would be left with
no amount. At the same time, though it is not the
responsibility of the husband to maintain his
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mother-in-law, he has been doing it for a long time till the
disputes started between the parties. Learned counsel for
the respondent has drawn the attention of this Court to
the judgment in Rajnesh's case stated supra, where the
Apex Court has observed that the requirements of
dependent relative has to be taken into consideration
while granting compensation. The interim compensation is
granted under Section 24 of the Hindu marriage Act taking
into consideration the plight of the person during the
pendency of the proceedings.
14. According to the petitioner, he has been
maintaining the house and he has been taking care of the
requirements of the son. Then looking at the particulars
furnished by the wife, she does not require Rs.83,600/- for
her maintenance. Deducting the amounts which are spent
by the husband and certain amounts which were
mentioned exorbitantly, this Court is of the view that, as
part of the responsibility is taken care of by the husband
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an amount of Rs.35,000/- would be an appropriate
monthly maintenance to the wife.
15. The contention of the learned counsel for the
petitioner that as she is employed, there is no
responsibility to the husband to take care of the wife
cannot be appreciated. The whole purport of Section 24 of
the Hindu Marriage Act is to take care of a person who is
not in a position to completely take care of him/herself.
There is no dispute that it is a gender neutral provision.
Here, the wife admittedly is paying Rs.55,000/- for her
mother's medical expenses and she requires the support
of the husband who is in a better position by virtue of his
employment. Hence, the Writ Petition is disposed off in
the following manner:
ORDER
i. The impugned order dated 05.12.2023 passed in
I.A.No.4 by the I Additional Principal Judge, Family
Court, Bengaluru is modified and the petitioner/
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husband shall pay monthly maintenance of an
amount of Rs.35,000/- to the respondent till the
disposal of the petition and the minor child is
entitled for annual educational expenses.
ii. This court as an interim arrangement has granted
Rs.30,000/- as maintenance and till this date if any
arrears are pending, the wife is at liberty to file an
appropriate application for recovery of the same.
iii. The amount of Rs.35,000/- as fixed by this Court
shall be from the date of this order and the husband
shall continue to pay the same on 5th of every
succeeding month.
SD/-
JUDGE
MEG
