The Supreme Court on Friday refused to grant divorce to a 54-year-old man who has been paying Rs 15,000 per month as maintenance to his estranged wife for the past 16 years, and asked him instead to consider a reasonable proposal for permanent alimony.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta told the petitioner that if he wanted his plea for divorce to be considered, he should first indicate what he was willing to offer as permanent alimony.The man argued that even Rs 15,000 was a heavy burden on his monthly income of Rs 65,000.
“Rs 15,000 is hardly anything these days…If you came up with an offer for permanent alimony we could have still considered (granting divorce)…(Else) Shaanti se baitho, dete raho 15,000, khush raho”
The Court was hearing the man’s challenge to a High Court order that had rejected his plea for divorce earlier.
Noting the man’s unwillingness to keep paying the maintenance amount, the Court asked why he could not keep his wife with him.
“Keep your wife with you. What is the problem?” the Court queried.
The man’s counsel responded that the parties had been living separately for nearly 16 years and continued to face issues between themselves. He submitted that mediation between the parties had failed despite repeated attempts.
The Court then observed that the only ground of cruelty based on which the man was seeking divorce was his wife’s insistence on accompanying him wherever he was posted.
“What is the problem with that?” the Court asked.
“There are temperamental issues,” the husband’s counsel reiterated.
Meanwhile, the wife’s counsel told the Court that she was not interested in permanent alimony and, in fact, wanted to return to living with her husband.
He also informed the Court that there were no children from the wedlock and that she was currently living with her mother.
Ultimately, the Bench stopped short of dismissing the plea and gave time to both counsel to obtain instructions on a figure for permanent alimony.
The matter was fixed for further hearing on April 27.
