Woman to pay alimony to husband

It’s a verdict that has shocked Delhi. A woman supporting four children on a monthly income of less than Rs 10,000 went to court to get a divorce and alimony.

Instead, this woman has been ordered to pay her husband a monthly alimony.

On her salary of Rs 9000 a month, Puja supports her children and runs a small home in Najafgarh in outer Delhi.

Now, she has to pay her former husband Rs 500 as monthly maintenance.

“I haven’t been able to pay my children’s school fee for three years. They may be thrown out. I have also had to mortgage this house. I don’t know how I will make ends meet. This is injustice,” said Puja Vijani, Petitioner.

After 20 years of marriage that Puja calls physically abusive, she filed for divorce a year back. She even asked for alimony hoping that whatever the court grants would help the family.

Instead, her husband convinced the court with medical certificates that he needed treatment and that he was without any livelihood. He convinced that he needed financial help more than his wife.

It’s an order that has taken many by surprise. A woman being asked to pay her husband alimony is not something that has happened many times in the past and whether it will now set a trend remains to be seen.

However, many feel this order is punitive in nature for a woman who has already faced harassment and victimization.

“It’s a shocking judgment. We’ve seen in so many such cases whenever it comes to paying maintenance, husbands become unemployed and go broke. Legally, it is permissible for a husband to be paid maintenance by his wife if he’s unable to support himself but these cases are extremely rare,” said Pinky Anand, Supreme Court Advocate.

Many feel the order should be challenged as it will send out a dangerous message.

“If this case sets a precedent, several women will face more torture and harassment than before. The woman in such a case is a victim. She leaves her home only when the torture becomes unbearable. If she is going to be punished further in this manner, life for her will become very difficult,” said Girija Vyas, Chairperson, NCW.

Puja wants to now appeal against the order and take her fight for justice to the High Court.

8 thoughts on “Woman to pay alimony to husband

  1. This is called unbiased judgement. All humans have equal rights to earn, the male as well as the female. In todays competetive world anyone may loose the job at any point of time. Whats wrong in it. Why should the men only be tortured for paying for the person who denied him of taking care of his family ?

    The pain of divorce and then getting robbed lawfully is very traumatic. Most or all women rights activist fail to understand that. In today’s private organizations jobs rest on performance. If anyone expects a man to perform well despite of all ill treatment and mental trauma then its foolish in his / her part to think so. Most men fail to cope up with their performance along with the huge burden of the divorce, 498(a)and alimony. Even some men induce high blood pressures and even cardiac related diseases. Still stone hearted people never retreat from the opportunity of robbing a poor guy especially when supported by law. Now what should the poor husband do? Definitely everyone unitedly is pushing him to commit suicide and then after he commits suicide not even the news channels are bothered to follow the coverage to the result since it was not a woman but a man who committed the suicide.

    Now someone may ask that how should the wife then survive after divorce especially if she is not employed. Then my reply would be the very much like the husband is earning is because he studied well and competed in the job market so why did the wife didn’t do it when she was single? She herself is the reason of her own disaster. Why should the men only suffer?

    This jurisdiction by the court is very sensitive and matured. Law shouldn’t discriminate between male or female. Law will be respected only if it is unanimous and unbiased.

  2. This is really an unbiased judgement. Law must be equal for all without discriminating between male or female

  3. unbiased judgement, but see this article completely favouring women as they are the judge and judge is on trial! stupid writer!

  4. it is not a biased judgment.Nowadays majority women are using law as a weapon to torture male and grabe money from male with their own fault.Nowadays women says we are no longer lesser to male and started doing both good and bad activities then why cant they pay money if her better/bitter half.

  5. i have married before one year. After marriage, my wife Denise to sex with me till now. she says, she will never do sex relationship with me. Now she is staying with her parent house since last six month. she threaten me that , she will put a dowery petition in court. so what i will do to get divorce. please reply.

  6. My husband throw me and my 2 years old son out of house and since last 7 months I am living with my parents we requested many times to look after his son at least but he is so stubborn when we went to his house to talk to him he and his family hit me with brutality and throw me out of house I was getting treated in the hospital and in those 2 hours he filed a complaint against me and my old parents that we forgot attacked them and entered their house.. Now tell me what law will do to help m3.. I am govt lecturer he is an advocate he is using law in his favour what should I do

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