Divorce Counselling: How does it help?

Hi You file petition for restitution of conjugal rights. Prithvi Raj Sikka lawjuris Delhi

DEFENCES FOR HUSBAND TO DENY OR REDUCE If your wife has asked for maintenance under CrPC 125, here's your chance to learn everything about how to fight and deny or reduce maintenance under CrPC 125 1. Husband’s EMI towards house to be considered in CrPC 125 Maintenance to wife – SC Judgment This is somewhat old judgment of Supreme Court, and it brings an important consideration which was overlooked by lower courts: Which was neglecting to consider monthly EMI paid by husband towards housing loan. The order reduced maintenance amount from Rs 10,000 to Rs 5,000 p.m. While this may cause cheers to readers, it should be noted that the in-hand salary of husband is Rs 9,000 p.m, so effectively he has to now survive on Rs 4,000 p.m. Somehow the facts of the case don’t add up for me. There must be more to it than the numbers mentioned in the judgment. The logic of going for an EMI of 21K on a salary of 35K itself seems questionable. Surely reducing maintenance might be considered a sacred goal by many husbands, but taking such huge loan thereby living on the edge is probably not for everyone. Also, from facts of the case, husband has already accumulated huge arrears of maintenance, probably hoping that one day a higher court will reduce his maintenance to some very low amount. While an optimistic view is good in life, one should assess risk vs reward in these matters. Accumulating arrears in maintenance is a high risk thing, because there is no guarantee the higher courts may reduce the maintenance drastically. Further, one has to live with that uncertainty for a long time running around in courts, so best strategy should be to reduce interim maintenance right from the start, at trial court level. 2. MP HC denies maintenance to wife on her CrPC 125 appeal We have this very recent judgment of Madhya Pradesh High Court which denied maintenance to wife under CrPC 125 on her appeal to HC since the court agreed with trial court’s observations that according to evidence led by husband and also wife’s own admissions, it was the wife who was not staying with him out of her own freewill. The judgment is actually not very significant, since both evidence by way of letters of husband and wife’s own admissions proved that there was no maltreatment, and in practical cases such evidence, and wife’s own admissions are very rarely seen. Also the wife didn’t appear in HC at all for her own appeal. If any husband is lucky enough to have this kind of evidence (and a wife who admits in court to her faults ) , of course they can make full use of it! This was how usage of CrPC 125 was intended to be, but after passing of laws like DV Act combined with the so-called ‘women empowerment’ trend, most of the time interim maintenance is granted based merely on allegations and the fact that wife is not staying with husband. 3. Qualified wife can’t sit idle and claim maintenance: Mumbai family court Important part of judgment below:

DEFENCES FOR HUSBAND TO DENY OR REDUCE If your wife has asked for maintenance under CrPC 125, here's your chance to learn everything about how to fight and deny or reduce maintenance under CrPC 125 1. Husband’s EMI towards house to be considered in CrPC 125 Maintenance to wife – SC Judgment This is somewhat old judgment of Supreme Court, and it brings an important consideration which was overlooked by lower courts: Which was neglecting to consider monthly EMI paid by husband towards housing loan. The order reduced maintenance amount from Rs 10,000 to Rs 5,000 p.m. While this may cause cheers to readers, it should be noted that the in-hand salary of husband is Rs 9,000 p.m, so effectively he has to now survive on Rs 4,000 p.m. Somehow the facts of the case don’t add up for me. There must be more to it than the numbers mentioned in the judgment. The logic of going for an EMI of 21K on a salary of 35K itself seems questionable. Surely reducing maintenance might be considered a sacred goal by many husbands, but taking such huge loan thereby living on the edge is probably not for everyone. Also, from facts of the case, husband has already accumulated huge arrears of maintenance, probably hoping that one day a higher court will reduce his maintenance to some very low amount. While an optimistic view is good in life, one should assess risk vs reward in these matters. Accumulating arrears in maintenance is a high risk thing, because there is no guarantee the higher courts may reduce the maintenance drastically. Further, one has to live with that uncertainty for a long time running around in courts, so best strategy should be to reduce interim maintenance right from the start, at trial court level. 2. MP HC denies maintenance to wife on her CrPC 125 appeal We have this very recent judgment of Madhya Pradesh High Court which denied maintenance to wife under CrPC 125 on her appeal to HC since the court agreed with trial court’s observations that according to evidence led by husband and also wife’s own admissions, it was the wife who was not staying with him out of her own freewill. The judgment is actually not very significant, since both evidence by way of letters of husband and wife’s own admissions proved that there was no maltreatment, and in practical cases such evidence, and wife’s own admissions are very rarely seen. Also the wife didn’t appear in HC at all for her own appeal. If any husband is lucky enough to have this kind of evidence (and a wife who admits in court to her faults ) , of course they can make full use of it! This was how usage of CrPC 125 was intended to be, but after passing of laws like DV Act combined with the so-called ‘women empowerment’ trend, most of the time interim maintenance is granted based merely on allegations and the fact that wife is not staying with husband. 3. Qualified wife can’t sit idle and claim maintenance: Mumbai family court Important part of judgment below:

Dear Client, The Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Department, Govt.. of Tamil Nadu has introduced a Family Counselling Centre for Women, children and family members especially those who are the victims of domestic violence are provided counseling, referral and rehabilitative services through concerned departments with the help of two qualified counselors in each of 5 family counseling centers run by Non-Governmental Organisations(NGO) in Chennai, Thiruvarur, Villupuram, Theni, and Sivagangai districts with the financial assistance of the State. The Department of Social Welfare is also implementing various Social Legislations for Women like the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and Dowry Prohibition Act,1961, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act,2005, Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizen’s Act,2007, Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place Act,2013. The Department is taking several measures to create awareness among women and others in society on these Acts to ensure that women benefit from these provisions available to them. You may contact the concerned District Social Welfare Officer(DSWO) in the office of Chennai Collectorate on 8th floor, M. Singaravelar Maaligai, 62, Rajaji Salai, Chennai Collectorate, Chennai – 600 001, Landline No. 4425264568, Mobile No.9150056800 or by email: [email protected] or [email protected] for the purpose.

Dear Client, Wife left the matrimonial home voluntarily in December 2024 after an argument and is now insisting on returning, the husband should first consult a lawyer, prepare all relevant documents and evidence of her behavior and the circumstances of her departure, and then consider sending a legal notice clearly stating his intention to seek divorce on grounds of mental cruelty. This step would serve as a formal attempt to resolve the matter amicably through mutual consent while protecting the husband from potential false allegations. If the wife refuses mutual divorce or reacts by filing a complaint under the Domestic Violence Act or approaching the police, the husband can seek anticipatory bail from either Delhi or Bihar, depending on where the complaint is likely to be filed. If the protection officer grants her interim reliefs without hearing the husband, he can challenge the same in court. Filing for divorce first before she initiates any case will help present the husband as acting reasonably and may assist in countering future false claims, though it won’t necessarily reduce alimony directly. The husband should avoid direct verbal conversations with the wife to prevent manipulation or misinterpretation and should consider pre-litigation mediation only if there’s a realistic chance of settling the terms of divorce. If a complaint is filed in Bihar, lawyers can initially handle the matter, though the husband may need to appear during critical stages.