LI Network
Published on: February 6, 2024 at 14:22 IST
In a significant ruling, the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Jabalpur Bench, has determined that a wife cannot be deemed as living apart from her husband by “mutual consent” if the husband fails to uphold the commitment to provide maintenance, as specified in their separation agreement.
Justice Vishal Dhagat highlighted that a wife should not be denied maintenance on the grounds of mutual consent if the husband reneges on promises made in the separation agreement.
The Court addressed a specific case where a woman alleged coercion by her husband into signing a separation agreement following his involvement in an extramarital relationship.
According to the separation agreement, the husband was obligated to pay ₹2,000 in maintenance with an annual increment of 10 percent to his wife and children, along with allocating one acre of agricultural land.
However, when the husband failed to fulfill these terms, the wife approached a family court seeking maintenance under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
In May 2022, the family court dismissed the plea, citing mutual consent due to the separation agreement.
Challenging this decision, the wife argued that the agreement was not registered, and thus, there was no legal separation. Additionally, she asserted that no maintenance was provided despite the agreement.
The High Court sided with the wife, emphasizing that the husband’s breach of the separation agreement negated the notion of living apart by “mutual consent.”
Consequently, the Court ordered the husband to pay ₹5,000 per month to the wife and ₹2,500 per month to their children. The revision petition filed by the wife was granted by the Court, overturning the family court’s ruling.
