Woman fined Rs10,000 for alimony lie

A woman who divorced her husband by saying that she wouldn’t claim any monetary relief has been fined Rs10,000 for contempt of court. She had obtained a judicial order asking her husband to pay Rs3,000 in alimony even after the matter was settled in court.

The Delhi high court on Thursday directed Manjit Kaur, a school teacher from Jalandhar, Punjab, to pay the fine for “concealing the material information” that she would earn a pension of Rs10,000 and has Rs20,000 income from her landed property while making the plea for alimony before a district judge in Punjab.

The court order came during the hearing on a plea by Kaur’s husband Gurbinder Singh, who was an army officer.

Kaur had told the HC that she was gainfully employed as a teacher and she continued to remain in employment till 2008, even after passing of the alimony order under Section 125 of CrPC.

After screening the Jalandhar court’s ex parte (for one party) order, the HC said she had concealed from the magistrate her own employment, her salary from the school and her assets.

After prolonged litigation on various counts, the couple had arrived at a settlement that Kaur will not initiate any type of action against her husband, children and in-laws.

Similarly, the husband had also given an undertaking that he would not disturb the wife in any manner and would not institute any action against her either before any court or any authority.
In 2005, Kaur filed an affidavit before the HC that she would abide by the undertaking given to the trial court on September 8, 2000, and that she would not harass her husband in future and will not create any cause of action afresh.

The husband moved the high court saying his wife had defied the undertaking, thus committing contempt of court.