Wife's cruelty no ground to deny maintenance: Delhi HC

NEW DELHI:

Delhi High Court

has clarified that the findings of cruelty against a wife in divorce proceedings cannot be the sole ground to deny her maintenance under the

Domestic Violence Act

, 2005.
The high court's recent order stressed the independent nature of maintenance claims under the Act and underscored the importance of considering each

legal

provision in its specific context.

It also observed that a revision petition could be filed with the high court against an order passed by the sessions court in appeal under Section 29 of the Domestic Violence Act, when the ground of cruelty alone has been invoked to argue that an estranged wife can be denied maintenance.
The ruling came in response to a woman's plea against a sessions court order that set aside a magistrate's order directing the husband to pay her Rs 1 lakh per month towards maintenance and compensation.

The case involves a marriage that took place in 1991, where a child was born the same year. However, over the next decade and a half, the union soured, leading her to file a complaint under the Domestic Violence Act in 2009.
Headway was made when they reached a settlement agreement after the court referred the matter for mediation. The magistrate's order, which held that the wife had suffered domestic violence at the hands of the husband, was, however, challenged by him before the sessions court.

The sessions court remanded the matter back to the trial court for a de novo trial, without fixing any interim maintenance to be paid to the wife, resulting in the wife approaching the high court for further and specific relief.
The high court held that the writ petition filed by the wife was maintainable and directed the husband topay a monthly sum of Rs 50,000 as interim maintenance from Dec 16, 2009, until Nov 01, 2019.
The court noted that the sessions court's decision to remand the case without fixing interim maintenance was unjustified and lacked reasoning. It directed that the appeal be decided based on the material on record, and said that the parties will have the liberty to lead additional evidence, taking into account any change in circumstances after 2019-20.
The court brushed aside the argument of the husband that she is not entitled to any maintenance since there are proven grounds of cruelty.