It has been held by the Bombay High Court that a government employee’s pensions can be attached for recovering the maintenance of the wife.
In the instant case, one Bhagwant Narnawre (applicant) had been directed by the Magistrate to pay a sum of Rs. 30, 000 per month by way of interim maintenance to his wife, who had initiated domestic violence proceedings against the applicant. The Magistrate had also passed an order to attach the pension of the applicant for the recovery of the same.
The counsel for the applicant claimed that the applicant received Rs. 72,000 as pension per month, and was thus not in a position to pay the maintenance amount as directed by the court. He further added that order for such attachment was not within the jurisdiction of the Magistrate, and relied on Section 11 of the Pensions Act, 1871 which states that the pension received by a person cannot be attached.
It was submitted by the counsel for the wife that the amount was in fact, payable by the applicant, who was well-settled. By cross-examination of the applicant he brought to notice that the applicant had received Rs. 20 lacs as pension benefits and owned two houses. He also claimed that the pension could be in fact, attached for the maintenance of wife.
After examining the cases of both the party, the Court said that the provision in question (Section 11, Pensions Act, 1871) was only applicable to creditors, at the instance of whom the pension cannot be attached. Since the maintenance to wife was not a debt, the wife could not be a creditor, and hence the pension of the applicant could very well be attached for recovering the maintenance amount. The Court, however, modified the amount of the maintenance from Rs. 30, 000 to Rs. 20,000 per month.
Courtesy/By: Aastha Nishad
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13 Apr 2019
