In a landmark judgement, an Indore family court has ordered a woman to pay monthly maintenance of Rs 5,000 to her estranged husband, overturning the usual norm of husbands doling out alimony to wives.
This shocking twist of fate came after the couple filed divorce petitions against each other, lobbing allegations of harassment and demanding the other pay up. After weighing the evidence, the court decided the husband deserved recompense.
So in a role reversal that would make heads spin, the wife must now fork out the maintenance amount to her out-of-work spouse.
The battling twosome’s story begins like a Bollywood romance gone sour.
Man Falls for Woman’s Charms, Marries in Haste, Repents at Leisure
Aman, a young man from Ujjain, met the woman in 2020 and quickly fell for her charms. After a few months of dating, the determined lady professed her love and asked him to marry her.
But Aman gently rebuffed her, saying he was only in 12th grade and wanted to focus on his education first before considering wedlock.
However, the woman resorted to emotional blackmail, threatening suicide if he refused. Not wishing to have her death on his conscience, Aman reluctantly agreed.
In July 2021, the impulsive couple tied the knot at an Arya Samaj temple in Indore.
But trouble started brewing within a month, as Aman alleged his wife began harassing him physically and mentally. Unable to bear it anymore, he left her and returned to his parents within two months of marriage.
Woman Files Dowry Harassment Case, Man Retaliates with Spousal Support Demand
Feeling scorned, the wife approached police and filed a missing person complaint against Aman. She also petitioned the family court, accusing him of dowry harassment and demanding maintenance.
Not one to take things lying down, Aman retaliated with a police complaint and court case against her, alleging mental and physical abuse. He asked for spousal support, claiming he was unemployed because of having to abandon his studies midway due to her.
Court Finds Wife’s Claims Unconvincing, Orders Her to Pay Hubby
After hearing both sides, the family court concluded the wife’s accusations lacked solid proof.
Her statements were self-contradictory – first telling cops she ran a beauty parlour, then claiming before court she was unemployed while her husband earned instead.
In the absence of concrete evidence, the court dismissed her dowry harassment charges as baseless and ordered her to pay Aman Rs 5,000 monthly maintenance.
For Aman’s lawyer Manish Jharola, this was perhaps the first case in Madhya Pradesh of a husband being granted alimony. Normally, wives receive maintenance in physical and mental abuse cases, he stated.
The court’s verdict made headlines for its novel standard-reversing decision. In a departure from norm, the allegedly “aggrieved” wife was disbelieved and ordered to pay up, while the “harasser” husband was seen as the victimized party.
Social media erupted in heated debate, with men’s rights activists hailing it as a progressive judgment, while women’s groups criticized the rare pro-husband ruling.
Several thorny questions emerge from this legal saga – Should alimony depend on gender? Can a man be the sufferer in a marriage? Does financial support always flow from husband to wife?
This shocking twist of fate in Indore shows mindsets may be slowly changing. The playing field between man and woman in marriage is getting leveled as far as spousal support goes.
So while the warring couple may have split, the husband can laugh all the way to the bank every month with his new alimony cheque. His wife may appeal to overturn the order, but for now, the payment pendulum has wittingly swung the other way!
