Delhi court rejects plea of man claiming he can't pay interim maintenance to estranged wife

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A Delhi court has rejected the plea of a man claiming he can't pay interim maintenance to his estranged wife since he doesn't have any income.

The court made the observation on the basis of man having worked as a director in a company that has Indian Test captain Virat Kohli as brand ambassador.

The petitioner (husband) was appealing against a trial court granting Rs 30,000 maintenance to his estranged wife. Additional Sessions Judge Anuj Agrawal was hearing the appeal.

According to Bar and Bench, "This court can take judicial notice of the fact that the brand ambassador of said brand is Virat Kohli, the Test cricket captain of Team India. Therefore, it looks highly improbable that a company which is running into great losses (as claimed by appellant), was in a position to afford a celebrity of such stature for the advertisement of its product."

According to the court's observation, the husband was a "man of means" and can't defeat the legitimate maintenance claim of the estranged wife. The woman has been living separately and has accused him (husband) of domestic violence and doesn't have any means to earn a livelihood.

However, the husband alleged that the woman is educated and has considerable income from her business, so she is not entitled to any maintenance.

The court in its observation said, "It appears that in the instant case also, appellant/husband withheld his true income from the court. It cannot be believed that a person who was capable of supporting a family by getting married, would all of a sudden become devoid of all sources of income."

As the husband's monthly salary is assessed at Rs 1 lakh, the interim maintenance of Rs 30,000 cannot be "unjustifiable or exorbitant" under any circumstances.