A family court in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore has directed a woman, who runs a beauty parlour, to pay a monthly maintenance of ₹5,000 to her husband, a Class XII pass out, after separation.

The petitioner’s lawyer, Manish Zarole, said: “A resident of Ujjain, Aman became friends with Nandini through a common friend in 2020. Nandini proposed marriage. Aman did not want to marry but Nandini threatened to kill herself if he didn’t agree. In July 2021, they got married in Arya Samaj Mandir and started living in Indore .”

Aman alleged in his plea that Nandini and her family started harassing him soon after marriage and stopped him from continuing his studies. He left home and returned to his parent’s house in September 2021, just two months after the marriage. The two have been living apart since then.

The court agreed with Aman Kumar, 23, who claimed he dropped out of college at the insistence of his wife and was unemployed but that his wife Nandini, 22, a graduate, was running a beauty parlour in Indore.

After Aman left home, Nandini lodged a missing report at the police station. Aman, in turn, filed a complaint at a police station in Ujjain, accusing Nandini’s family of harassing him, and also filed a plea before the family court for divorce and maintenance.

Meanwhile,in December 2021, Nandini also filed a case of domestic violence against Aman in Indore.

In December last year, Aman filed a petition in the Indore court seeking that his marriage be held null and void. During the hearing on Wednesday, Nandini told the court that she wanted to live with Aman and save her marriage.

“Nandini lied before the court that she was unemployed and that Aman used to work. The court rejected her plea as there were many contradictions in her statements,” said Zarole. “This is a unique case. In this case, the court also ordered Nandini to pay an additional amount as litigation expenses.”

Nandini said she wanted to save her married life and didn’t reveal many things in court which she would in a higher court when she challenged the order.

Under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, both men and women can claim maintenance.

In 2020, a public interest litigation was filed in the Supreme Court seeking gender and religion neutral uniform provision for maintenance and alimony and has sought a response from the Central government.

The court agreed with Aman Kumar, 23, who claimed he dropped out of college at the insistence of his wife and was unemployed but that his wife Nandini, 22, a graduate, was running a beauty parlour in Indore.

Accordingly, the court asked the wife to pay ₹5000/- as maintenance to her husband, per month.