• Alimony without divorce decree

my wife had filed for divorce in pune (shivajinagar) civil court along with demand for alimony.I did not wanted divorcee in the begining and did not paid any attention of the court proceeding .. in the meantime when I was away from mumbai for work purpose She got a 1 sided decision passed for an interim maintainanceof 50,000 along with 27,000 that I pay for the house loan in which she is staying . She does not allow me to stay in the house and had taken forced pocession of the house.
Inspite of fighting for 2 years where she was absent most of the time during case processding , The court made the decision that since the decision was already passed , they said with that order and I had to go to High court which was also not approved. Now the case is back to Pune for the final maintainance case and the court is again not proceeding the case because the backlog of maintainance of 23 lakhs I need to pay .. of which 16 lakhs I was able to pay but the rest I'm still struggling to arrange and despite asking court repeatedly they are not proceeding the case forward .. 
What I want from the court is by merit evaluate my capacity and come up with a proper alimony and then settle the divorce as well .. I do not which to drag this marriage now. Also she is a ceritified beautician and also works (but does not shows up) . She is a TATA AIG freelance agent . But if she is getting such a huge alimony why would she want to work. Also she is not sending my daugther to school properly.
I'm looking for a proper legal advice of how to handle my case and settle this matter .. and how to convince the court and they would agree. My email-id :[deleted]
Asked 9 years ago in Family Law
Religion: Hindu

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7 Answers

1. You ought to have contested the claim for maintenance if you were not willing to be burdened with the liability to pay the maintenance. The court gave you a fair opportunity which you did not avail.

2. You moved the High Court against the order of the lower court, but remained unsuccessful.

3. Now the legal recourse available to you is to move the Supreme Court of India, or comply with the order passed by the court.

4. The maintenance so ordered by the court will have to be paid by you in entirety, failing which the court will eventually be constrained to issue a warrant of arrest whereupon you may be arrested and sent to jail.

5. After paying the maintenance you can contest her claim as she is earning on her own. If the court holds you not liable to maintain her then you will be entitled to the refund of the amount paid.

Ashish Davessar
Advocate, Jaipur
30763 Answers
972 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1) you have to comply with court orders

2) if you were aggrieved by order of interim maintenance you should have challenged said order in high court

3) you have not mentioned what is your income

4) generally 1/3rd of income is awarded as maintenance

5) engage a detective agency and gather evidence of your wife income

6) if she is filing income tax returns apply to court for production of her income tax returns

7) you can make application to court for child custody

8) further your wife cannot refuse you entry in your own flat

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94522 Answers
7485 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Hello,

1) As there is arrears of maintenance to be remitted the court may continue to delay the verdict pending the same.

2) You will need to give some undertaking to the court that you will be able to make a time bound payment and you want a speedy disposal of the proceedings.

3) The court will not pass an arbitrary order finally without taking into account your capacity to pay besides the living standards. You need to be vigilant and attend court proceedings diligently.

S J Mathew
Advocate, Mumbai
3545 Answers
175 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

No fixed formula can be laid for fixing the amount of alimony. Right to alimony is an incident of the status from an estate of matrimony. While considering a claim for interim maintenance, the court has to keep in mind the status of the parties, reasonable wants of the applicant, the income and property of the applicant. Conversely, requirements of the non applicant, the income and property of the non applicant and additionally the other family members to be maintained by the non applicant have to be taken into all. Whilst it is important to insure that the maintenance awarded to the applicant is sufficient to enable the applicant to live in somewhat the same degree of comfort as in the matrimonial home, but it should not be so exorbitant that the non applicant is unable to pay.

The court has to take a general view. From the various judicial precedents, the under noted 11 factors can be culled out, which are to be taken into consideration while deciding an application under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act. The same are:

1. Status of the parties.

2. Reasonable wants of the claimant.

3. The independent income and property of the claimant.

4. The number of persons, the non applicant has to maintain.

5. The amount should aid the applicant to live in a similar life style as he/she enjoyed in the matrimonial home.

6. Non-applicant’s liabilities, if any.

7. Provisions for food, clothing, shelter, education, medical attendance and treatment etc. of the applicant.

8. Payment capacity of the non applicant.

9. Some guess work is not ruled out while estimating the income of the non applicant when all the sources or correct sources are not disclosed.

10. The non applicant to defray the cost of litigation.

11. The amount awarded under Section 125 Cr.PC is adjustable against the amount awarded under Section 24 of the Act.

Shivendra Pratap Singh
Advocate, Lucknow
5127 Answers
78 Consultations

4.9 on 5.0

Alimony is a monetary compensation granted to the spouse who is unable to support herself. Alimony could be offered in two ways. It can either be a maintenance during the time of court proceedings or a permanent maintenance / lumpsum compensation after the legal separation. The lumpsum payment is usually referred to as the alimony. The spouse has the choice to go for either lumpsum payment or a fixed monthly payment, depending on the requirements.

The court decides on the amount of alimony/maintenance after looking at factors like husband's income and property, the woman's income and property and the divorced individual's financial needs. The court could also look at external factors such as inflation while deciding on the alimony amount. However, it is the applicant who has to prove her/his spouse's net worth, which, in turn, will decide the amount of alimony/maintenance. Once the court passes the order, the husband has to pay a lumpsum or a monthly amount till the wife remarries. Court may make an order for payment to the wife of such monthly 50000 sums for her maintenance and support as the Court may think reasonable. So

In your case the family court and high court confer the interim maintenances. So now the position is you have to file an appeal before Supreme Court. And contest the case with ample proof and convince the court .

Ajay N S
Advocate, Ernakulam
4072 Answers
110 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. First legal advice to you is to attend the cases meticulously,

2. Your wife's lawyer has availed the right opportunity to push for the order in your absence,

3. However, challenge the said impugned order in the Higher court for setting it aside,

4. Whatever you have posted here shall have to be submitted before the Court with evidence,

5. Engage an alert lawyer to move an appleal before the higher court against the said order.

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27191 Answers
726 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

If you have proof that she is gainfully employed then file the proofs in the court. Further before any further advice could be given it is important to go through the order of granting the interim maintenance. Moreover since you defaulted, court can impose the condition of clearing the backlog. You should have taken the case seriously and presented your part of the picture too. Did you appeal against the order granting interim maintenance?

Shaveta Sanghi
Advocate, Chandigarh
914 Answers
111 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

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