Family court rules out maintenance to educated wife, who spurned husband's request to stay with him

The Gandhinagar family court, after around 4 years, dismissed the plea by a woman for maintenance from her husband on the grounds that she was educated and had not complied with his request that she return to his residence. Principal judge DT Soni, however, ordered him to pay Rs 4,000 towards maintenance of his minor daughter.

Taranand Narendra Zha (35), a resident of Punam Sagar complex in Mira Road and manager at a crockery exporting firm, befriended Reena Sharma, an Ahmedabad resident through a social networking site, and the two got married on January 17, 2005. However, after six months, Reena filed a case against the family members of her husband at Mira Road police station under IPC sections 498A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty), 406 (intentional breach of trust), 34 (common intent). However, the family was acquitted of all charges after Reena failed to establish grounds of cruelty.

"I was ready to accommodate my wife, but she spurned my proposals. I procured a decree in 2010 from Thane court as per section 9 (conjugal rights) of the Hindu Marriage Act, but my wife did not responded," said Zha.

"Reena later filed for a maintenance of Rs 7,500. However, the principal judge dismissed her plea saying she had not responded to her husband's request to live with him, and that, she was an educated woman with a masters degree and had been teaching when she stayed at Mira Road," said Zha.

The judge, however, ordered me to pay Rs 4,000 towards maintenance of my 7-year-old daughter, he added.