K.V. Seetharamaiah
Karnataka High Court has held that diabetes is manageable and it can be no ground for husband to avoid payment of maintenance to the estranged wife. Diabetes among people is so widespread that people are inured to live with it. There was a time when people who visited hotels and restaurants had to order for Coffee or Tea without sugar. Now the time has changed. The diabetes has wielded such an influence that people visiting hotels and restaurants have to order for Coffee or Tea with sugar. This implies in unambiguous terms that diabetic people were very rare. Now diabetis-free people are very rare. Diabetic patients will be on life-long medication. Expenses on tablets or insulins with periodical consultations with doctors make big hole in the pockets of people. The increased expenses are to some extent offset by the discontinued or reduced consumption of sugar. Many people are obliged to take tablets like food and food like tablets. Ratan Tata has rightly advised “Eat food like medicine. Otherwise you may have to take medicine like food”. The commonality of diabetes among the people is too well known. The Court in Ananth Kumar KG vs Yogitha Ananth Kumar case has refused to accept the contention of the petitioner husband to take shelter under diabetes he is suffering from, to avoid payment of alimony to the wife. The family court had ordered the petitioner to pay Rs. 10000 monthly to the estranged wife. The petitioner had pleaded his inability to make periodical payments. Periodical payment is quite different from monthly payment. If an employer pays salary periodically, that cannot be accepted. Monthly payment of salary is needed and accordingly payment is made monthly for the sustenance of continued life. The court has observed that law, religion and justice require an able-bodied man to look after his dependent family and that the same was evident in legislation through Section 125 (concerning maintenance) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The petitioner’s contention that the sum of Rs. 10,000 is excessive has not been accepted by the court. Considering the high cost of living, Rs. 10,000 is a pittance. But even Rs. 2,000 may become excessive if the earnings of the husband are poor and he does not have regular source of income. Security of the job coupled with good income that matters in the affordability of the alimony to the wife in separation. The courts generally take into consideration the income earned by the men. The petitioner’s argument that his wife is gainfully employed and therefore does not need maintenance is untenable. It is strange that he did not take note of the minor child in the custody of his wife. The court has observed that there was no dispute regarding the marriage between the parties and the legitimacy of their child. Incompatibility and misunderstandings are the driving forces for keeping the spouses away from each other. People are left with no choice but to adjust with the family and be happy even in difficulty or face the ordeals of agony from separation and be unhappy even at the joy of separation.
