After an RTI reply, it was found that the annual income of her ex -husband was Rs 27 lakh, the Jharkhand High Court has allowed a woman and her autistic son to be paid a total of Rs 90,000 every month. This includes a woman of Rs 50,000 as monthly maintenance to the woman and a child of Rs 40,000 to the son.
The man had earlier allegedly presented an affidavit saying that he was unemployed.
The petitioner woman contacted the High Court once in 2023 against alimony of Rs 12 lakh honored by a family court for Rs 12 lakh.
According to the petitioner, within a few years of marriage, he allegedly faced cruelty and domestic misconduct, as well as dowry demands, including cash and an SUV. In 2012, the couple had a son, who later revealed autism. She alleged that her husband cut communication and refused to support her or the child.
In 2014, the woman filed an online complaint with the National Commission for national women, citing domestic violence and abandonment. Despite reconciliation attempts at Bhopal police station in 2015, no resolution reached.
Rakesh Kumar Gupta, counsel for the petitioner’s counsel, told The Indian Express that in 2016, he contacted the Family Court in Ranchi, demanding divorce on the basis of cruelty and desolation. “Subsequently, the court gave a living allowance of Rs 12 lakh for the son’s maintenance and a one -time alimony of Rs 8,000 per month,” he said.
Dissatisfied with the amount, especially in the light of his son’s special needs and medical expenses, he appealed to the Jharkhand High Court.
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While the husband claimed during the proceedings of the family court, he was unemployed, the appellant produced an RTI response from the Income Tax Department, showing that he was working with an IT company in Mumbai and earned a gross annual income of Rs 27 lakh in FY 20223 (about Rs 2.3 lakh after deduction).
“Despite the husband’s false affidavit, there is no income, RTI North showed that he was earning Rs 2.31 lakh per month. Based on this, we transferred the High Court, which amended the order of the earlier district court and gave a total of Rs 90,000 – Rs 50,000 to the wife and an autistic child of Rs 40,000.”
The High Court took it on record and expressed concern that the family court had accepted the husband’s claim that he was unemployed without further verification. The High Court also noticed that when the wife was a guest teacher in Ranchi, it could not be seen as a regular employment, especially given her full -time care duties for a child with autism.
A division bench of Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad and Justice Rajesh Kumar said that minor children, who have 75% intellectual disability, require long -term special care and medical attention. The court paid serious attention to the father’s alleged failure to take active interest in the child’s welfare and commented that “the representation of the wife is one thing, but the representation of an autistic child is not only a moral failure, but a legal default”.
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The court also considered an estimated cost of around Rs 53,000 per month submitted by the petitioner, including a child consistent with constant professional and speech therapy, special schooling and a structured diet and medical care.
Gupta called the High Court order a milestone. “This case is not only about alimony. It is about accepting a long -term and unique challenges facing a single mother while raising a child with autism … It’s a socially important decision,” he said.
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