Delhi HC Directs Ex-J&K CM Omar Abdullah To Pay Rs 1.5 Lakh Monthly Maintenance To Estranged Wife (Image:twitter.com/OmarAbdullah/status)
The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to pay Rs 1.5Lakh to his estranged wife monthly as interim maintenance.
In addition, the court also ordered Mr Abdullah to pay Rs 60,000 each for the education of his two sons every month, reported the news agency PTI.
Mr Abdullah is the Vice President of Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC). He became the 11th and the youngest Chief Minister of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, after forming a government in coalition with the Congress party, on 5 January 2009.
The directions by the High Court has came on petitions by ex-wife Payal Abdullah and the couple”s sons against 2018 lower court orders granting them interim maintenance of Rs 75,000 and Rs 25,000, respectively, till the boys attained the age of majority.
The court under Justice Subramonium Prasad recently observed that Mr Abdullah has the financial capacity to provide a “decent standard of living to his wife and children” and that he ought not to abdicate his duties as a father.
“Respondent (Omar Abdullah) is a man of means, and has access to financial privilege that evades the common man. While it is understandable that being a politician, revealing all information pertaining to financial assets might be dangerous, however, there is no iota of doubt that the Respondent does have the resources to provide for his wife and children,” said the court.
Omar was born in Rochford, Essex, worked for India”s ITC group and Oberoi Hotels before entering politics. According to reports, Omar met his future wife, Payal, while they were working at The Oberoi, Mumbai.
Payal, a Hindu Jat girl from Himachal Pradesh and daughter of a retired army officer, married Omar in 1994.
Sara, Omar”s younger sister, is married to senior Congress politician from Rajastan Sachin pilot.
The couple, who were married for 17 years and separated in 2011, were prominent faces in the social circles of Delhi.
Mr Abdullah submitted before the court that he was discharging his duty of maintaining the children and his wife was consistently misrepresenting her actual financial position.
The attainment of majority by a son should not absolve a father of his responsibilities of maintaining his children and ensuring their proper education, and that the mother cannot be the only one bearing the burden of expenses for raising and educating them, observed the court.
“Even if the wife has sufficient financial means to sustain herself, the husband cannot wash his hands off the responsibilities that are bestowed upon him when it comes to the upbringing of his children,” the court added.
