Order for maintenance to woman set aside by sessions court

Sessions court said lower court's order not based on proof,but merely on claims and counter-claims.

A sessions court has set aside a magisterial court direction to a man to pay a compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh to his wife for subjecting her to domestic violence,saying that the order was not based on proof,but merely on claims and counter-claims.

“The trial court is expected to give findings on facts and evidence on record and not on basis of claims and counter-claims. Since the findings of the trial court are given merely on the basis of affidavits,the impugned order cannot sustain,” Additional Sessions Judge Santosh Snehi Mann said.

She also asked the magisterial court to examine afresh walled city resident Monika Gupta’s allegations that she faced domestic violence at the hands of her husband and in-laws.

The metropolitan court had awarded a compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh and a monthly maintenance of Rs 2,500 to Monika who had moved the court against her husband Anshu Gupta and his seven relatives under the Domestic Violence Act.

She had also alleged that they had been harassing her through various methods,including lodging complaints with her employer,due to which she was thrown out of job and lost her source of income.

In his appeal against the March 2010 order of the trial court,Anshu contended that the findings of the court were not based on any evidence.

The ASJ noted the trial court had given its findings on various disputes between the parties on basis of claims and counter-claims made in their affidavits.

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It observed that the parties to the case were also not given the opportunity to cross-examine each others’ witnesses,which is a basic procedure for leading evidence and right of the opposite party.

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