Karnataka: Court raps ex-wife for ₹6.16 lakh alimony demand; go earn it, says judge
The woman submitted her list of requirements as ₹60,000 for monthly expenses, ₹50,000 legal fees, ₹15,000 to buy clothes, ₹4-5 lakhs for physiotherapy for her knee
The Karnataka high court reprimanded an estranged wife for asking for over ₹6 lakhs per month as interim alimony from her husband. While hearing her plea, the single judge bench observed that if as a single lady she wants to spend so much, 'let her earn it'.
According to a Live Law report, on August 20, single judge bench Justice Lalitha Kanneganti while hearing the application orally told the wife's counsel, “Does anybody spend this much, a single lady for herself, if she wants to spend let her earn, not on the husband.”
Breakdown of expenses
The woman who was demanding ₹6.16 lakh per month in alimony said that she needed ₹ 60,000 for monthly expenses (and a separate amount for dining expenses), ₹50,000 in legal fees, and ₹ 15,000 to buy clothes.
Since her ex-husband wears expensive clothes and spends over ₹10,000 per month on his wardrobe, the ex-wife wanted to be given a similar budget. The woman claimed that her current wardrobe was full of "old clothes".
The judge was not pleased with her request. She asked the wife not to give figures in lakhs and warned that she would dismiss the wife’s petition if she did not give her exact expenditure.
Further, the judge also questioned the rationale behind the wife's request considering she did not have any responsibility of the family or had to take care of the children. Why would she want ₹6 lakhs for herself, asked the judge, pointing out 'that is not the purport of Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act'.
Moreover, this is not a matter of punishment to the husband for having a dispute with the wife to grant ₹6 lakhs as interim maintenance. "You (wife) should be reasonable in telling it. Not that I will tell some figure and let the court decide to give some amount or other,” the court admonished her for bargaining to finalise the alimony amount.
Enhance maintenance
The wife had approached the court seeking to enhance the maintenance amount of ₹50,000 ordered by the trial court.
In addition to the expenses she had listed, the wife had also asked for ₹4-5 lakhs for physiotherapy and other medical costs since she was suffering from knee problem and other ailments. And the knee pain was attributed the husband's negligence.
The court also observed that the wife should correctly specifity her expenditure and cannot expect ₹5 crore if her husband earns ₹10 crore.
In the end, the court gave the wife a final opportunity to file the actual required expenses and posted the matter to be next heard on September 9.
Meanwhile, the husband's counsel submitted that an amount of ₹63 lakh is in circulation in the bank as the wife was into share trading, which was denied by the counsel for the wife.