Could Divorce Be Money-hunting Racket?

  •   Sat, Aug 06 2022
  •   By John B Monteiro

August 6, 2022

“Divorce is expensive. I used to joke they were going to call it 'all the money,' but they changed it to 'alimony.' It's ripping your heart out through your wallet.”- Robin William (1951-2004), American actor and comedian.

Alimony is also called “maintenance” and the latest ruling on the subject comes from a Magistrate’s court in Mumbai - as reported in The Times of India (8/5/22) and excerpted here:

Court denies dentist interim maintenance from husband, says she can get job

Observing that a qualified woman doctor was not entitled to maintenance from her husband, a magistrate court has refused to grant interim maintenance to a city-based dentist. The woman had told the court that she had been a housewife since 2018 and her estranged husband was in the construction business. The court, though, said, "The applicant is a doctor. She resides in a metropolitan city. She is expected to do medical profession as a dentist and very easily she can get opportunity to do such a job in Mumbai. Such a qualified applicant... is not entitled for her maintenance from the husband...." "Presently, she has been residing with her parents, means the applicant (woman) is residing in the house in which she has every right to reside as the law treats a daughter and a son equal in respect of the rights in the properties of the parents. In my considered view, the applicant is not entitled for any relief on account of the residence order," the court said.

The court, though, granted her Rs 30,000 towards maintenance of her children aged 5 and 3. "It is admitted that the father of the respondent (husband), comes from a well-to-do family. Considering these facts, fair and reasonable maintenance is required to be granted for the children," the court said.

The woman had sought over Rs 1 lakh as monthly maintenance and Rs 40,000 towards rent. She said the man lived in a seven-bedroom home with five bathrooms and a garden. The family owned four cars and a motorcycle. She said that her brother had also "gifted" her in-laws a car they demanded.

The now estranged couple got married in 2015. They lived in a joint family set-up until their separation in 2018. The woman had filed a domestic violence complaint last year against her husband and mother-in-law.

The husband denied the allegations of violence and cruelty. He said the woman left their matrimonial home on her own, without any reason and without giving information to his family. The husband claimed that she did not return home despite efforts made by them and wanted to settle down in Mumbai.

Is there a hint of angling for bonanza – not necessarily in the present instance but going beyond it.

The subject is open to many views. What are yours? Your response is invited in the format given below (Pl. scroll down a bit). Once again, welcome to reason.

 

Also read:

 

 
By John B Monteiro
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Comment on this article

  • mohan prabhu, mangalore/canada

    Tue, Aug 09 2022

    John, You have raised a pertinent issue but the question you have raised seems biased to me. This is a quickie divorce between a well placed couple neither of whom needs government assistance to solve their property dispute which, in reality it is. The woman married with high expectations of getting rich by squeezing money from her husband by divorcing him. In such cases, the law should not intervene but let them settle through an agreement where the woman would get a proper share of her husband's wealth - after all, she was lured by his wealth; as a dentist, her income though beyond an ordinary person' expectations, is quite large.. A suggestion when either or both partners in a marriage is wealthy, they should agree to a pre-nuptial agreement about the eventuality of their marriage coming to an end for one reason or another. A woman always wins by allegations of cruelty and courts bend over backwards to grant her a divorce whether she makes out a reliable (truthful?) case or not.


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