498A, DV Act and 125Crpc Q-A Session

Q. Hi my name is Nasir. I stay in Mumbai. I got married in 2016 and I have a 2 year old daughter. My wife has left me and my daughter and has gone to her parents house. She is not ready to come back and not ready for divorce even. She has filed a DV case on me & my family. I live separately from my family. I have no received any summon and already 3 hearings of the case are done & this was told to me by my relative. Can any warrant be issued against me or my family?

A. If you have not received the summons, you can visit the E-Courts website and can check your next date. You can also check the orders passed on previous dates. If there is any ex-parte order, you can appeal in Session Court and if not then take a new date and application from Court and file a reply against it. If wife has demanded interim maintenance from you, then tell the Court that your wife has left you and your daughter without any sufficient reason. You have to prove wife’s irresponsible behavior to Court. Court will understand your point and judgment may come in your favor. In the case of DV, warrant cannot be issued. Warrant is only issued in the case where you are not following the orders. Everything will be fine if you will follow the above instructions.

Q. My Son’s wife put 498a Case etc. then my son was in jail for some days. Then both agreed to live together, bail given & both live together for 5 months. Then after she said in Court – isko fir jail me daalo mujhe torture karta hai. Court ne 3 4 din ka time diya to give one time alimony. Mediation is done. Court gave 90% amount cheque to her & closed the 498a case. Court gave the orders to file Mutual Divorce. After 6 months wife denied to get separated and wanted to live with husband. She agreed to return the alimony amount. Court dismissed the case. She has not returned the money yet and living separately. She is working also. What should we do? Please advice.

A. You should not trust a wife who can complaint against her husband and can send him to Jail. If she has done it once, she can do it again in future also. You can see that even after giving money, she did not give divorce. So first be clear with your decisions. Now what you can do is, If you have given the money and you have proof of it and you are a senior citizen, then you can complaint to District Magistrate under Senior Citizen Act, Chapter 5. You can complaint that your DIL has taken money from you and she is not giving it back to you. Magistrate will order and chances are that you may get your money back. If Magistrate is not helping you, then file a writ in HC under Senior Citizen Act. You may get a favorable judgment from HC.

Q. How to reply for interim maintenance? Please give a list of important points needs to be added during interim maintenance reply?

A. Interim maintenance order can be taken in DV or 125 CrPC. Reply of Interim maintenance is very important and needs to be prepared with accurate facts. The replies and arguments will decide the order of Court. Following points should be considered while preparing the reply of Interim Maintenance:-

1. You should tell court that this is a false application implied upon you with unclean hands and many hidden facts.
2. You should tell Court If your Wife is working or has worked before. Tell about her past working experience, past income, her qualification. If she is currently working, tell her current income and convince court that she can maintain herself.
3. Tell Court that your wife has left you without any relevant reason and she has deserted you.  A wife deserting her husband without a sufficient cause is not eligible for maintenance.
4. You have not committed any domestic violence with her and there is no evidence of it. If Judge gets convinced with this fact, your wife would not be able to take interim maintenance under DV act.
5. If you have any evidences regarding adultery of your wife, then convince Court that an adulterous wife is not eligible for maintenance.
6. If your wife has left you and your kids without reason then this will prove out to be negative for your wife. Court will not grant maintenance under DV act.
7. If she has given wrong information about your income to the Court, then you tell the court about your income and give relevant income proofs to Court so that Court is able to take right decision regarding interim maintenance.
8. Describe Court about your expenses out of your income such as rent, Loan expenses etc.
9. Along with Oral Arguments, submit written arguments also and some case references related to your case. This will add some value to your case.

Considering all the above points and denying all the allegations made by your wife, submit your interim maintenance reply in Court. If you think that Court has not considered your points efficiently, then you can file appeal Revision in Higher Court within 30 days. If somehow you are not able to file within 30 days, then under Limitation Act, you can request Court to accept your appeal.