Bengaluru: A woman's demand for Rs 6.16 lakh per month in alimony - including Rs 60,000 for monthly expenses (and a separate amount for dining expenses), Rs 50,000 in legal fees, Rs 15,000 to buy clothes - was reportedly knocked back Wednesday by a single-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court.
In a widely-shared video recording of court proceedings Justice Lalitha Kanneganti refused the request, and told the woman's counsel, "If she wants to spend (this much money), let her earn."
According to Bar and Bench the woman wanted more than the Rs 50,000 she is receiving now.
Reports said the woman claimed lakhs in alimony because her ex-husband wears expensive clothes and spends over Rs 10,000 per month on his wardrobe. The ex-wife, her lawyer argued, should therefore be given a similar budget; the woman declared her current wardrobe full of "old clothes".
Part of the alimony demand, reports also said, included Rs 4-5 lakh for medical bill, which includes treatment and physiotherapy for knee pain that was attributed to the ex-husband's "negligence".
The court, however, was unimpressed. According to legal news website Bar and Bench, Justice Kanneganti asked, "Does anybody spend this much? A single lady (by) herself...?"
The court did not, though, dismiss the demand for alimony, and called on the woman to present a more reasonable account of expenses. "If you want an order... I want actual figures, not this 'lakhs of rupees'. Otherwise I will dismiss your application," she was quoted by the Times of India.
The woman was also warned against trying to "exploit the process of the court".
And, according to the above report, she was also ticked off for trying to bargain with the court.
"Your client is not understanding... you (her lawyer) should understand and advise her. This is not a place for bargaining. You are supposed to tell the court her actual expenses. We will give you one last chance to be reasonable... else straightaway we will dismiss," she declared.
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