'Husband Rich': Court Hikes Wife's Compensation To Rs 1 Crore From 5 Lakh For Domestic Violence
A Mumbai court on Thursday, June 5, raised the compensation a metropolitan magistrate earlier awarded to a woman in a domestic violence case, from Rs 5 lakh to one crore, considering that her husband and his family belonged to the “crorepati” class.
While hearing the case, special Judge S J Ansari of the Sessions Court at Dindoshi ordered the verdict. The judge said that the respondent (husband) was “extremely rich” and the grant of compensation of Rs.5 lakhs to the complainant was “too meager an amount.”
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The court said that such a compensation increase was required to compensate the woman for 20 years of torture, humiliation, and economic abuse. The court was hearing the plea filed by both the husband and the wife against the judgment of a metropolitan magistrate in 2020.
The wife had alleged that her husband, since their marriage in 1997, subjected her to severe physical, emotional and financial abuse. She recounted multiple assaults, including a violent incident in November 2016 that left her bleeding and hospitalised, leading to her husband’s arrest. The husband has, however, denied the allegations, claiming the wife had injured herself.
The wife approached the court seeking an increase in maintenance and compensation, as well as protection and residence orders, while the husband argued that he was financially strained as he was paying for his son’s education and rent, claiming he was the real victim of the domestic problem. He claimed his business suffered losses, while denying ownership of substantial assets. However, as the husband failed to provide any financial documents to support his claims, the court found them unconvicting, while pointing out that the husband and his father purchased a property worth over Rs 1 crore in 2012 as evidence of wealth.
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The court cited a precedent from the Bombay High Court that affirmed a wife’s right to the same standard of living as her husband, and to damages for both physical harm and emotional trauma. Notably, in addition to the 1 crore compensation, the court noted the monthly maintenance for the wife from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh and upheld the Rs 1 lakh maintenance for the couple’s daughter until she turns 18.
The court also upheld the wife’s right to reside in the family’s Mumbai flat, as it was deemed a shared household, while restraining the husband and his parents from dispossessing the wife or transferring ownership. The court dismissed the husband’s appeal while ordering him to pay the legal costs and upholding protection orders against any further violence against the wife.
