Ghaziabad: An additional district and sessions court on Wednesday upheld the decision of a Modinagar gram nyayalay, ordering a CRPF jawan to pay interim maintenance of Rs 15,000 per month to his wife, notwithstanding her personal income or alimony obtained from her previous husband.The court ruled that the complainant is entitled to interim relief under Section 23 of the Domestic Violence (DV) Act, which aims to provide immediate relief to the aggrieved party. This ensures she can lead a dignified life and face no financial difficulties during the litigation, the court said.A criminal appeal was filed with the court by the CRPF personnel, Anurag Choudhary of Meerut, against the gram nyayalaya order dated April 21, which directed him to pay interim maintenance of Rs 15,000 per month to his wife, Neha. The court also directed him to pay the seven months’ pending amount from the date the application for maintenance was made. Aggrieved by the order, Choudhary filed for relief, claiming that his wife had sufficient sources of income and the application was made to harass him.Choudhary’s counsel argued that it was Neha’s second marriage and she had received Rs 15 lakh as a one-time settlement from her previous husband. “She earns interest on that amount, and earns around Rs 20,000 per month from private tuitions, Rs 10,000 from selling milk, and another Rs 10,000 from sewing and embroidery,” the counsel said, adding that Choudhary also has to support his elderly parents from his salary.He further informed the court that the wife chose to live separately and went back to her parents’ house in Modinagar on April 20, 2019, while the appellant filed a complaint under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act with the family court of Meerut seeking restoration of conjugal rights. “The matter is pending with the family court,” he said, stressing that the husband is ready and willing to take up her responsibilities.The wife’s counsel presented the application filed before the village court, stating that a complaint under Section 23 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act was filed, and monthly maintenance was demanded. “The applicant has no source of income and she is completely dependent on her parents, whereas her husband, employed with the central govt, earns around Rs 90,000 as a monthly salary and also obtains rent of Rs 40,000 from the two-storeyed building in Meerut,” the counsel said.Having heard both sides, judge Dinesh Chandra Shukla observed that merely receiving Rs 15 lakh as compensation from her previous husband does not eliminate the complainant’s grounds for seeking interim relief, as any compensation given to a divorced woman is merely financial assistance for her future life.“It is extremely difficult to survive on the four instalments received from Rs 15 lakh from the year 2019 to the year 2025, and after marriage, it is also the husband’s responsibility to fulfil the basic life needs of the wife,” the court noted, ruling in favour of the wife and allowing the maintenance as ordered by the gram nyayalaya.
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