Kolhapur: The Kolhapur Bench of the Bombay High Court has ordered a serving police constable to serve six months in civil prison for wilfully defying court orders directing him to pay permanent alimony and child maintenance to his former wife.
Justice Sharmila Deshmukh, in an order passed on Oct 16, held that the constable had deliberately failed to honour undertakings given before the court despite securing a settlement under which his wife withdrew multiple cases against him.
“The respondent is liable to be punished under Article 215 of the Constitution of India and the provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, for wilful and deliberate non-compliance” of the court’s earlier orders, the bench observed. The court further noted: “In my view, the imposition of a fine will not meet the ends of justice, and the respondent is directed to be detained in civil prison for a period of six months.”
At the hearing on Oct 16, the constable’s counsel argued that he lacked the financial capacity to pay the outstanding Rs 13.4 lakh. The lawyer submitted that he had borrowed heavily, including taking a Rs 17 lakh loan, and was left with a net monthly salary of around Rs 10,000.
“The loans taken were for his own benefit for construction of the house; the conduct in utilising the funds meant to create an asset for himself constitutes wilful disobedience of orders,” the court said. The dispute stemmed from proceedings initiated by the woman before a family court, including petitions for restitution of conjugal rights, maintenance and relief under the Domestic Violence Act. However, after paying the first tranche, he defaulted on the remaining payments, prompting contempt proceedings. In April this year, the high court framed charges under the Contempt of Courts Act. The court rejected the defence.
It observed that the loans had been taken before the settlement was reached and were used for construction of his house.