Denying interim maintenance to a woman, a dentist by qualification, in a domestic violence case she filed against her husband, a city magistrate has observed that such a qualified applicant is not entitled to maintenance from her husband.
The magistrate noted that she is a doctor and resides in a metropolitan city like Mumbai. It said she is expected to practice as a dentist and that very easily she can get such a job in Mumbai. It noted that she had completed her BDS degree in 2010 – 11.
The woman had claimed a monthly maintenance of Rs. 1.10 lakhs for her and her two children, aged 5 and 3 who live with her. She had left her joint family in her matrimonial home in Rajasthan in 2018 when she was pregnant with her second child. Since then she has been residing with her parents and children in Malad. In her plea, she said her husband runs a business, earns well, lives in a 3,500 sq. ft villa and his family owns four cars. She said she has been a homemaker for the past three years because of the responsibility of her young children and that all their expenses are being looked after by her parents. She urged that the court pass an order directing that he provide her rent for accommodation in Mumbai.
The court said that she is residing with her parents in a house in which she has every right to reside as the law treats a boy and a girl equal in respect of rights in the properties of parents. It held that she is not entitled to relief in respect of accommodation. The magistrate also said that there have been no efforts on her part for cohabitation with her husband, which go against her.
The magistrate however asked the man to pay a total of Rs. 20,000 monthly towards the maintenance of his two children, considering that his father is a two-time MLA and he belongs to a well-off family.