Woman cannot be made to wait for maintenance and starve: Court

For grant of interim maintenance,
a woman cannot be made to wait for the outcome of a trial to
prove her allegations against her husband and starve till
then, a Delhi court has said.
"A lady cannot be forced to starvation by declining an
interim relief on the basis of pleas which require evidence
for adjudication," Metropolitan Magistrate (Mahila Court)
Sunena Sharma said.
"It is to be observed that at this interim stage only a
prima facie view based on the pleadings and other materials on
record is to be taken into consideration as the allegations
and counter allegations shall be proved by the parties at
subsequent stage of trial," she added.
The court made the remarks, while directing East Delhi
resident Vijay, a motor mechanic, to pay Rs 2,500 to his
estranged wife Gudya and Rs 1,500 to their child as monthly
maintenance to take care of themselves.
Gudya told the court she had been living away from her
husband since 2009 and he never bothered to take either her
care or their child.
She alleged that she was forced to leave her matrimonial
house due to physical and mental harassment by Vijay and his
family members, who made a persistent demand of dowry and used
to beat her up and make her starve for days.
The court found that Gudya had lodged a complaint against
Vijay with the Crime Against Women Cell of Delhi Police but no
case had been registered.