AHMEDABAD: Gujarat high court has temporarily stayed a family court’s order directing Ahmedabad resident Dipak Agrawal to pay Rs 45 lakh in alimony to his estranged wife, Nikita Agrawal, who is accused of murdering his mother. The decision comes after Dipak challenged the alimony order, arguing it was improper to pay maintenance to the wife who is accused of the grave crime of murdering his mother.Nikita Agrawal was arrested in Oct 2020 for allegedly killing her mother-in-law, Rekha, by striking her with an iron rod. The incident reportedly followed repeated verbal disputes between Nikita and her husband. At the time of the incident, Nikita was pregnant and later gave birth while in prison. She spent over two years in jail before being granted bail.In 2021, Dipak filed for divorce on the grounds of mental and physical cruelty, citing the alleged murder. The family court granted the divorce in Aug this year but ordered Dipak, who is involved in granite trading, to pay a one-time alimony of Rs 45 lakh, based on his income.Dipak’s counsel Rahil Jain argued in HC that it was neither proper nor feasible to pay alimony to the wife who is accused of such a serious crime. “It is submitted that the present is not a simple case of divorce, but the appellant-husband has been subjected to not only emotional but physical cruelty by the wife by killing his mother,” the court recorded in its order.The HC bench, comprising Justice Sangeeta Vishen and Justice Nisha Thakore, has issued a notice to Nikita and scheduled further hearings for Jan. The bench stayed the family court’s alimony order, stating, “Considering the chequered and serious facts, by way of an ad-interim relief, direction contained in Para 4 is placed in abeyance till the next date of hearing.”
About the Author
