The woman approached the apex court demanding a luxury flat in Mumbai, ₹12 crore in maintenance, and a high-end BMW. The Supreme Court on Monday rebuked a woman seeking extravagant maintenance from her estranged husband and asked her to work and earn the privilege given her qualifications. The woman, who was representing herself in a marital dispute, had approached the apex court demanding a luxury flat in Mumbai, ₹12 crore in maintenance, and a high-end BMW.
Chief Justice BR Gavai described the package asked by the complainant as excessive. “But that house is in Kalpataru, which is one of the good builders. You are an IT person. You have done your MBA. You are in demand in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Why don’t you work?” chief justice said.
“You were married for just 18 months. And you also want a BMW?” he added, noting that the woman was practically asking for an alimony of ₹1 crore for every month of her 18-month marriage. “Aap itni padi likhi hai. Aapko khudko mangna nahi chahiye aur khudko kama ke khana chahiye,” the chief justice said. The order has been reserved.
What’s the woman’s stance?
The woman defended her demand for the maintenance, citing her husband’s wealth and accused him of abandoning her unfairly. “He is very rich. He sought annulment, saying I’m schizophrenic. Do I look schizophrenic, my lords?” she asked the bench. The woman further claimed that her husband, who is a former Citibank manager who now reportedly runs two businesses, forced her to quit her previous job.
The court then went through the husband’s tax returns as his lawyers pointed out that his income had declined after he quit his job. The Chief Justice then told the woman to “be satisfied” with the flat and take up a “good job”. “Or you better take those four crore, find a good job in Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore… there is a demand in IT centres,” he said. Meanwhile, senior Advocate Madhavi Divan, representing the husband, said the woman must also share responsibility for her livelihood. “She has to work, too. Everything cannot be demanded like this,” Divan argued.
