Delhi: The Delhi High Court in its order has stated that a husband living with another woman and also having a child with her makes the wife a victim of domestic violence under the Domestic Violence Act. The court rejected a husband’s plea against paying his wife maintenance of ₹30,000 per month.
As per reports from Live Law, Justice Subramonium Prasad made the statement while dismissing the plea. The husband also challenged an additional ₹5 lakh compensation to his wife for injuries, including mental harassment, ₹3 lakh in compensation, and ₹30,000 in legal fees.
The couple got married in 1998. The wife claimed that her husband mentally, verbally, and physically abused her. In 2010, he brought another woman, with whom he was having an affair, into their home, introduced her to his parents, and stopped living with his wife.
The wife also said her in-laws threatened her, warning that if she took action, her husband would stop providing financial support to her and their children. She alleged that her husband married the other woman and had a daughter with her.
Rejecting the husband’s plea, Justice Prasad disagreed with his argument that the wife’s complaint did not fit within the Domestic Violence Act. The court stated that the wife had to leave her marital home because she couldn’t bear her husband living with another woman. The court added that the wife had no choice but to leave her children with the husband’s parents, given the circumstances, and her actions were justified.
In upholding the maintenance of ₹30,000 per month, the court said that the wife’s ability to earn money should not be used against her. It also stressed that the husband’s responsibility to support his wife and children remains, regardless of whether the wife is capable of working.
The court further noted that many Indian women leave their jobs to take care of their families, children, and in-laws. It called the husband’s claim that his wife was abusing the law an insult to all women.
