Wife was granted- 3 CRORES by Bombay High Court

In a recent case titled ABC v XYZ, while upholding the decision of the trial Court, the Mumbai High Court ordered the ex-husband, who was found to be guilty of the acts of domestic violence against his ex-wife which included instances such as calling her ‘second- hand’ as her engagement with another was called-off, to pay an amount of Rs 3 Crores as compensation.

Facts of the case-

• The couple got married in January in the year 1994 in Mumbai, following which they moved to USA, where they performed another marriage ceremony.
• In the year 2005, the couple returned to India, started residing in Mumbai in a house which was owned by both of them. In the year 2008, the wife decided to move to her mother’s house, while the husband in the year 2014, moved back to USA.
• The husband in the year 2017 filed an application seeking divorce in USA, while in Mumbai, the wife filed a complaint under the Domestic Violence Act against the husband. In the year 2018, the divorce petition by the husband was allowed by the Court.
• It was alleged by the wife in her application that in the year 1994, the husband called her ‘second-hand’ during their honeymoon in Nepal, as the earlier engagement was called off.
• It was further claimed by the wife that while in USA, the husband he further alleged that when they were in the USA, her husband accused her of having illicit relations with her brothers, it was further revealed that the husband was arrested by the Police Administration in the USA, but was later released on bail.
• The wife further claimed that the accusations by the husband continued even after returning to Mumbai, where he accused her of having illicit relationships with a milkman and vegetable vendor, claiming further that on one occasion, the husband tried to suffocate her with a pillow.
• It was further claimed by the wife that her husband and in-laws also withheld her Streedhan, including the jewellery gifted by the in-laws. 

Decision of the Trial Court

• The affidavits accounting the numerous incidents of physical and verbal abuse by the husband as well as including various witness testimonies of the family members of the woman, were taken into account by the Trial Court. 
• Partly accepting the application, the woman was granted a compensation of Rs 3 crores by the Metropolitan Magistrate  as well as allowing her a monthly maintenance of Rs. 1.5 lakhs, including the return of the ‘Streedhan’. 
• The Trial Court, however rejected her plea demanding the possession of the Matunga flat which was jointly owned by the couple, however directing the husband to ensure an alternate accommodation for the wife  or pay an amount of Rs 75,000 monthly as rent. 

The husband filed an appeal against the decision of the Trial Court which wad denied by the Sessions Court, leading to which the husband approached the High Court.

Observations by the Mumbai High Court

• After considering the evidences produced before it, the High Court upheld the decision of the trial court. 
• The High Court held that the provisions of the DV Act would be applied for the period of couple’s stay in India from 2006 to 2008. Also, citing the decision of another HC Single Bench, the HC observed that for the complaint related to the acts of domestic violence committed abroad, the Indian Courts would have jurisdiction.
• While upholding the observation of the trial court over the issues of domestic and economic abuse, the High Court decided that the divorce decree from the US Court would not prevent the relief sought by the wife under the DV Act, as the application under the DV Act was filed before the divorce was granted.
• The amount of compensation was justified by the amicus curie, as wife never received any amount of maintenance since the year 2008, thus, even considering the amount of Rs. 1.5 lakhs per month for this period, the total amount would be around 2.7 crores, which is just, fair and reasonable, this reasoning of the amicus was accepted by the Court, based on the case’s facts. 
• The High Court, therefore, upholding the decisions of the Magistrate’s Court and the Session’s Court, allowed an interim stay on the these orders for a period of two weeks on the request of the Husband’s Counsel.

In order to have a better understanding of the laws related to marital laws or domestic violence laws, including legal provisions related to maintenance, alimony, child custody, etc., or if you wish to seek legal consultation for these matters based on the facts of your case, it is advised that you contact us at Sharks of Law, where renowned lawyers such as Adv Deshwal, Adv Kansal could offer you appropriate advice for the same. 

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