Mumbai, Jul 11 (IANS): Pets can help fulfill the emotional deficits that arise after relationships break down, a Mumbai court observed while ordering a man to pay maintenance for his estranged wife’s 3 Rottweilers.

Bandra Court Metropolitan Magistrate Komalsing Rajput recently rejected a man’s arguments to slash the maintenance payable to his 55-year-old wife which also includes money for her 3 pet dogs.

Dismissing his contentions, the Magistrate said that “pets are also part and parcel of decent lifestyle… are necessary for human beings to lead healthy life as they fulfill the emotional deficit that occurred on account of broken relationships”.

Accordingly, the court said that this could not be the ground to mitigate the maintenance amount for the woman and her 3 pet canines.

The woman, a victim of domestic violence had sought maintenance of Rs 70,000 per month under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, but her ex-husband challenged it on grounds that she wanted maintenance even for her 3 pet dogs.

The court has allowed her plea partly and directed the husband to pay Rs 50,000 per month as maintenance till the disposal of the main plea filed by the woman.

The Magistrate took into account the fact that both parties were of sound financial background, there was no evidence to support the husband’s claims of suffering business losses, and the court felt that the maintenance granted to the wife should be in tune with her lifestyle and other requirements.

The couple was married in 1986 in another Indian city, have two daughters who are settled abroad, but differences arose between the husband-wife in 2021, and he sent the wife to Mumbai assuring maintenance and other facilities.

Later, the wife alleged that her husband had not kept his promise, he indulged in domestic violence, she had no sources of income, was suffering from ill-health and had three dogs dependent on her.