In an unprecedented and unanticipated relief to husbands, the Delhi High Court has fixed the cap of maintenance to be paid by husbands to their estranged wives at Rs. 600.
In a society that reeks of male hatred and suffers from inherent anti-male bias, this controversial pro-husband decision comes as a much needed relief to the scores of harassed husbands who keep running from pillar to post highlighting their plight in order to remove the axe of exorbitant maintenance slapped on them.
Says Supreme Court advocate Suresh Tiwari, “Yes, this decision was truly surprising, albeit a pleasant one. These days women make claims of 2-3 lakhs per month as maintenance. Ultimately they do get around 35-40K. And the poor husband has no option but to pay it through his nose. I take up cases only on behalf of men and when I listen to their heart-rending stories, this decision is like an oasis in a desert.”
However, the Delhi High Court Chief Justice ain’t amused at the feminist outcry against this very rational decision of his. Rues P. Murugesan, CJ, Delhi HC, “I am at a total loss attempting to comprehend the logic and rationale behind these mindless protests by feminists against this very rational decision of mine.”
Contending that he had a proper backing for his decision, the CJ continued, “Instead of throwing stones at me, they should go and talk to their big boss, the Delhi CM Smt. Sheila Dixit, who just said that Rs.600 is enough for a family of 5 to survive for a month.”
He explained, “normally we get cases wherein the husband is expected to maintain a family of five – wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law. And hence, we thought that when since the CM herself believes that a family of 5 can survive on Rs. 600 for a month, we thought why to unnecessarily bother husbands and fixed the cap at Rs. 600”.
Agreed another High Court lawyer Gyanish Mittal, “This is a very welcome decision as it would also help reduce the latency of cases, since with a simple straitjacket formula, appeals and counter-appeals would be less and courts can focus on non-matrimonial issues.”
Nilathiri Shekhar, a prominent men’s rights activist welcomed the decision with stretched arms and said, “This will help men in their financial planning also. If their wives leave the home and go away, all he needs to do is set aside Rs. 600 from finances and then forget about the case. This will help reduce stress on men and will also bring down the number of suicides committed by married men, at least in Delhi.”
