DNA:
Mumbai: Monday, 06 October 2014.
The family
court has come to the rescue of a husband whose divorced wife has claimed a
major portion of money from his retirement benefits, that too 21 years after
they separated.
Principal
judge Laxmi Rao has dismissed the application of the woman seeking 30% of the
Rs79 lakh which her former husband is due to receive when he retires this month
from a government job. The judge said not only the woman had given up on
claiming any further money from the husband but also suppressed the fact she is
employed. The woman has argued that she was not aware of the terms and
conditions of the divorce obtained through mutual consent way back in 1993 as
she was not proficient in English.
"It is
very astonishing to see that 21 years after the divorce is granted, this woman
comes before this court to suggest that she was not aware of the said consent
given by her and that it was fraudulently obtained," observed the judge.
Clause 5 of
the consent says the woman would not be entitled to claim anything from
ex-husband in future. In 1993, the family court awarded her maintenance of
Rs350 per month which was increased to Rs3,000 per month in 2003.
The husband
said the woman was represented by lawyers so she cannot complain of being
unaware of the terms and conditions of the divorce. He also sought the
cancellation of the 2003 order of increased maintenance claiming that through
RTI information he has come to know that she earns Rs25,000 per month. On the
other hand, the wife has said she earns Rs1,000 per month though she did not
present any documents to support her claim. She got a job with the education
department in the BMC on compassionate grounds after her brother's death.
Refusing to
accept the woman's claim that she was not aware of the consent, the judge
observed: "I wonder why she remained silent for last so many years and did
not mention the said fact in her application upon which she was granted
enhancement (of maintenance) from Rs350 to Rs3,000 per month. At that point of
time also she was represented by a lawyer."
The judge has
also allowed the man's application seeking cancellation of enhanced maintenance
of Rs 3,000 per month since 2007. The judge has also directed the woman to
refund Rs1.25 lakh to the man (50% of the maintenance amount paid since 2007),
for having suppressed the information that she is employed since October 2007.
.JPG)
.JPG)
