A thousand rupees is too less an amount even for a single person, said a Delhi court.
A thousand rupees is too less an amount even for a single person to survive in a metropolitan city, a Delhi court has said while enhancing the amount of interim maintenance awarded to a woman in a domestic violence case.
Special judge Ramesh Kumar allowed the appeal filed by the woman, a resident of Chattarpur in south Delhi, and enhanced the maintenance amount awarded to her by a magisterial court to Rs 3,000 from Rs 1,000.
"Considering the living expenses in a metropolitan city, it is certainly a very less amount to survive upon, even by a single person," the judge said.
The court, while directing the woman's husband to pay the amount to her, said being legally wedded to her, it is his liability to provide maintenance.
"More so, appellant, being legally wedded wife of the respondent, is liable to be maintained by him. It is duty of the able-bodied husband to maintain his wife and children. In the present matter, the respondent (husband) cannot escape from the said liability," the court said.
The trial court, on May 5, had awarded an interim maintenance of Rs 1,000 per month to the woman which she challenged before the sessions court.
According to the complaint filed by the woman, the couple got married on May 2, 2014 and she was allegedly harassed by her in-laws demanding a car and dowry.
The woman further alleged that she was beaten and thrown out of her matrimonial house on December 13, 2014, and her in-laws asked her not to return unless she brings more dowry.