The Bombay High Court recently said that the courts are expected to impose interests on maintenance that is to be paid by husbands and fathers to their wives or children, Bar & Bench has reported.
“The trial Courts are not awarding interest on maintenance amount. There is no any legal ban to award interest on that amount of maintenance. The husbands or fathers are many a times are not depositing the arrears of maintenance for years together. They have no fear or burden to payment of interest on that amount of maintenance. It is a serious legal mischief in mischief,” the court said
“Therefore, Courts of District Judiciary are expected to award interest on the amount of maintenance, so that these weaker sections of the society will get their maintenance amount expeditiously. It will serve the purpose of speed(y) justice. Thus, in order to secure their rights fully, effectively and speedily which is an object of justice, interest must be awarded which is rationally expected. Their amount of maintenance shall not remain in the hands of the other side which deprives them for maximum period from it. Thus, it is now mandatory to award interest on the amount of maintenance; for that this judgment shall be circulated to the District Judiciary of Maharashtra,” the High Court added; according to Bar & Bench.
The High Court passed the order while dismissing a plea filed by a man against an order directing him to pay Rs 1,500 as monthly maintenance for his wife and ₹2,000 as maintenance for their son.
The husband contended that his wife had fraudulently obtained the maintenance order as she had suppressed a material fact that she was earning about Rs 12,000 – Rs 15,000 in a private company. The wife refuted the said contentions and highlighted that the husband was a government servant. She further said that the maintenance amounts ordered to be paid by him were meagre and did not meet the needs of the family.
The High Court noted that though there is evidence to show that the wife was employed with a salary of Rs 3,500 per month, however, this is not enough to take away the husband’s liability to pay maintenance.
“Merely because the wife is earning the husband cannot be exonerated from the liability to pay the maintenance amount,” the court remarked.
