Mumbai, February 14 A sessions court here has upheld a magistrate's order in a case of domestic violence, directing a man to pay for a full-time maid or daycare for his twin daughters, stating that it is the parents' responsibility to maintain their children with dignity.
Granting interim relief to the wife, the magistrate had asked the man to pay her Rs 12,000 per month to cover the costs of a full-time maid or daycare services.
The man then challenged the order by filing a criminal application before the additional sessions court at Dindoshi.
Sessions judge M Mohiuddin M A rejected the plea.
The couple got married under the Special Marriage Act in 2017. Both of them worked with Etihad Airways and lived in Abu Dhabi with the man's mother, as per the woman's complaint.
The husband and mother-in-law tortured her, which led her to suffer from depression and lose her job, the woman claimed.
The husband too eventually lost his job. Upon return to Mumbai, the woman filed a domestic violence case in 2021, and sought childcare expenses as interim relief.
She could not do her current job as a cabin crew while simultaneously caring for their two young daughters, especially as her own mother suffers from spinal problems, the woman said.
The husband challenged her claim, stating that she earns about Rs 2 lakh per month and has significant investments while he himself is living "at the mercy of his brother" in Dubai with a salary of Rs 85,000.
He also denied the charges of domestic violence, and alleged that the woman forcibly took custody of the children to use them "as a weapon to extract money."
However, the sessions judge noted that the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act gives broad powers to magistrates to grant monetary relief in such matters.
Considering the circumstances, the magistrate's order to pay Rs 12,000 per month was "just and proper," it said.