Divorcee claims maintenance, court raps her for contempt

NEW DELHI - The Delhi High Court Monday slapped a fine on a woman for contempt, taking serious note of the fact that she had concealed she was employed and continued to claim maintenance from her husband, and filed cases against him despite an undertaking to court.

Justice S.N. Dhingra slapped a fine of Rs.10,000 on Manjit Kaur for concealing the facts from the court and violating the undertaking she gave in another court in Jalandhar that following her divorce she will not file any case against her husband after settlement.

“Where a person after concealing the material facts about her own employment and about the undertaking given to the court, files an application for maintenance just to harass the opposite side (husband), this amounts to violation of undertaking given by her,” the judge said.

The court was hearing her husband Gurbinder Singh who had filed a contempt case against his estranged wife for filing cases against him.

The court also took note of the fact that the woman was working as a teacher in a school in Jalandhar but did not disclose it before the court and claimed maintenance of Rs.3,000 per month.

Despite a final settlement between the two in 2000, the woman filed petitions against her husband and violated the undertaking that she will not harass him or his family members.

The court directed the woman to seek maintenance for herself after her retirement from her present job, and said, “Claim maintenance after disclosing pension and other income and properties to the court which she holds in Delhi or at other places.”