Supreme Court Directs Husband's Employer To Deposit Monthly Maintenance To Wife's Account After Deducting From His Salary

The Supreme Court recently directed the employer of a man to deduct ₹25,000 every month from his salary and transfer the amount directly to the bank account of his estranged wife towards maintenance for her and their minor daughter.

A bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan passed the direction after noting that the husband had failed to comply with earlier orders and had not paid any maintenance despite living separately from his wife since 2022.

The Court recorded that the couple has a four-year-old daughter who is being taken care of solely by the mother. It also noted that the husband had neither contributed towards the child's upkeep nor even met the child in the past four years.

Earlier, the Court had referred the parties to mediation and asked them to explore the possibility of arriving at a lump-sum settlement for dissolving the marriage. As an interim measure, the husband had been directed to deposit ₹25,000 towards the travel expenses of the wife and the minor child for attending mediation proceedings. However, the Court observed that the husband did not even comply with that direction.

The bench was also informed that an order of interim maintenance had been passed by a magistrate's court in 2024 and that the husband had accumulated arrears of about ₹1.38 lakh.

During the hearing, the Court examined the husband's affidavit of financial condition, in which he claimed to be earning a monthly salary of ₹50,000 and stated that he was facing financial constraints.

The judges asked the husband whether he was willing to deposit ₹2.5 lakh, inclusive of the arrears of interim maintenance. The husband declined to make any payment.

"In such circumstances, we are left with no other option but to direct the employer of the respondent-husband, that an amount of Rs.25,000/- (Rupees Twenty Five Thousand only) shall be deducted per month from the salary and the said amount shall be transferred by RTGS to the account of his wife," the Court ordered.

The bench emphasized that it was particularly concerned about the welfare of the minor child. It noted that the mother was raising the child alone and was currently living with her uncle after the death of her father.

The matter has been posted in April for reporting compliance with the Court's directions.

TP (c) 3147/2024