Matrimonial disputes in India routinely collide with criminal allegations. Cases demand simultaneous judgments on marriage, money and violent crime. And jarring contradictions often surface when courts decide on maintenance for wives. Often, the process becomes a test of judicial restraint and evidentiary fairness.
One case illustrates this complexity. The Gujarat High Court has temporarily stayed a family court’s order directing Ahmedabad resident Dipak Agrawal to pay Rs 45 lakh in alimony to his estranged wife, Nikita Agrawal, who is accused of murdering his mother.
The decision comes after Dipak challenged the alimony order, arguing how it was fair to pay maintenance to the wife who is accused of the grave crime of murdering his mother.
According to reports, five years ago, Nikita Agrawal allegedly killed her mother-in-law, Rekha. She reportedly hit her with an iron rod.
The incident, claimed a section of the media, resulted in verbal disputes between Nikita and her husband.
At the time of the incident, Nikita was pregnant and later delivered a child in prison. She spent over two years in jail before being granted bail.
A year later, Dipak filed for divorce on the grounds of mental and physical cruelty, citing the alleged murder.
The family court granted the divorce in August this year but ordered Dipak, who is involved in granite trading, to pay a one-time alimony of Rs 45 lakh, based on his income.
Dipak’s counsel Rahil Jain argued in HC that it was neither proper nor feasible to pay alimony to the wife who is accused of such a serious crime.
“It is submitted that the present is not a simple case of divorce, but the appellant-husband has been subjected to not only emotional but physical cruelty by the wife by killing his mother,” the court reportedly recorded in its order.
The HC bench, comprising Justice Sangeeta Vishen and Justice Nisha Thakore, has issued a notice to Nikita and scheduled further hearings for January.
The bench stayed the family court’s alimony order, stating, “Considering the chequered and serious facts, by way of an ad-interim relief, direction contained in Para 4 is placed in abeyance till the next date of hearing.”
Also Read: Man Moves Gujarat HC Seeking Divorce, Says Wife’s Obsession With Stray Dogs Ruined Marriage https://www.vibesofindia.com/man-moves-gujarat-hc-seeking-divorce-says-wifes-obsession-with-stray-dogs-ruined-marriage/
