The Allahabad High Court ordered a man to pay his wife Rs 15 lakh after uncovering his history of financial coercion and deceptive litigation, a Bar and Bench report said. Justice Vinod Diwakar noted that the husband forced his wife to secure two loans against her salary, siphoning the entire proceeds of one into his own account.
While the husband had petitioned for an expedited maintenance claim from his wife, the Court dismissed his conduct, observing that he repeatedly approached the bench with misleading and inaccurate facts.
Legal troubles and deceiving the court: What happened?
Married in 2019, the couple is currently entangled in several legal battles over their failing marriage. The wife works as an Additional Private Secretary at the High Court, while the husband is a registered lawyer who claims he formerly worked as a contractor and currently lacks a stable income.
Evidence revealed that the wife first took out a personal loan of ₹11.50 lakh, which she successfully repaid. Later, to try and save their relationship at her husband’s constant urging, she took a second loan for ₹13.56 lakh. She continues to pay monthly installments of ₹26,020 for this debt.
The Court discovered that the husband moved almost all the money into his own accounts.
Highlighting his deception, the Court noted, “It is also admitted position that the huge amount (almost entire amount) has been transferred by petitioner into his personal account without knowledge and consent of the respondent-wife. It is also admitted position that no land has been purchased as promised by the petitioner-husband from the loan amount.”
Additionally, the Court condemned the husband for hiding crucial information, particularly regarding his true earnings. the Bar and Bench report added.
Court’s rebuke: Dismissing petition with heavy costs
Finding the petition lacking bona fides, the court ruled the husband’s parallel remedies and misleading affidavits disentitle him to relief, especially given Section 144 Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) typically aids wives, children and parents.
It imposed Rs 15 lakh costs via demand draft to the Registrar General within six weeks for handover to the wife, recoverable as land revenue arrears by Etawah DM if unpaid, alongside asset inquiries and family court probes into his false filings.
The court then expanded compensatory costs beyond direct losses to address ‘insidious’ economic abuse- control over income, asset coercion and eroded independence- urging courts to scrutinize marriage’s power dynamics rather than treat it as a private sphere.
Directing expedited divorce proceedings at Prayagraj Family Court and a four-week resolution of the wife’s maintenance review, it emphasised adapting law to modern marital realities, ensuring exploitation faces accountability while upholding marriage’s values.