Estranged wife steals job letter, passport & work visa; hubby tells HC he can’t pay alimony
An attempt to get even with her estranged husband boomeranged on the wife. Saurav Chowdhary, 31, and Sangeetha, 28, tied the knot a few years ago, but are now involved in a messy divorce case. Saurav, a software engineer, has told the High Court of Karnataka that Sangeetha had made it impossible for him to earn a livelihood as she had taken away the appointment letter for a job in Singapore, his passport and work visa. Saurav's advocate told the court that if he did not join work soon, he would not be able to pay the Rs 23,000 monthly alimony he had been paying Sangeetha.
Sangeetha, who hails from Kolkata, has returned to her parents' home, while Saurav resides in Bangalore. She has filed cases under Section 498(A) of the Indian Penal Code and under the Domestic Violence Act.
The cases are being heard in a lower court, but Sangeetha had filed a fresh case in the high court, alleging that the police were supporting her husband who had filed a false complaint against her.
All this was triggered by a trespass complaint Saurav has filed with the Mahadevpura police station. He alleged that his wife entered his house and took away 16 different items, including gold jewellery, his marks cards, the appointment letter, passport and work visa.
Justice N Ananda went through the list of items allegedly taken away by Sangeetha. “She may get some of these items in the final settlement... Let her keep the gold items,” the judge said. “But, she should give back the marks cards, the appointment letter and the passport. Let him live. He has to survive. Was he not paying her maintenance that she took away these things?” he asked.
The government advocate told the court that the parties were not willing to compromise and the advocates were unable to help them. The court ordered that Sangeetha be present for the next hearing along with all the items she had taken away. The case was adjourned to March 6.
Let him live. He has to survive. Was he not paying her maintenance that she took away these things?
JUSTICE N ANANDA, High court judge
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