In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court has directed the Registrar of the Delhi High Court to sell six shops in a building complex owned by Mohan Gopal, the father of Varun Gopal, and deposit the proceeds in a fixed deposit to pay Rs 1.25 crore in maintenance arrears to Varun’s estranged wife, Shilpi Srivastava.
Shilpi, a native of Chhattisgarh, sought the court’s intervention after her husband, Varun, abandoned her eight years ago following their two-year marriage. Despite receiving an ex-parte divorce in Australia and remarrying, Varun failed to pay the court-ordered maintenance of Rs 1 lakh per month, accumulating arrears over time.
Varun, who now has two children from his second marriage in Australia, had been evading maintenance payments ordered by a family court in Bilaspur. In response to Shilpi’s claims, he sought anticipatory bail, which was denied, leading to his refusal to attend court hearings in India.
In a separate case, Shilpi had also accused Varun and his family of cheating, resulting in the arrest of Varun’s father, Mohan Gopal, who spent ten months in jail in 2018-2019.
Shilpi later appealed to the Chhattisgarh High Court to increase her monthly maintenance to Rs 1.27 lakh, arguing that Varun was earning Rs 4.25 lakh per month and that she was entitled to 30% of his income. She also claimed that the Rs 1 lakh she was receiving did not reflect the lifestyle she enjoyed while living with Varun.
When Varun continued to default on maintenance payments, Shilpi brought the case before the Supreme Court, requesting that several of the shops owned by her father-in-law be transferred to her name. She argued that the rent from these properties and the interest from the arrears would be enough to support her.
During the Supreme Court hearings, Varun’s father, Mohan Gopal, argued that he should not be responsible for paying his son’s wife’s maintenance. He stated that the maintenance order was against Varun, not him, and that the obligation should be fulfilled from Varun’s assets.
However, Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Aravind Kumar ruled that Varun and his father had been consistently defiant and had delayed complying with previous court orders. They stated that both Varun and Mohan Gopal were responsible for fulfilling the payment of the arrears.
The court ordered the sale of six shops in the building complex owned by Mohan Gopal, with the proceeds to be deposited in a fixed deposit to pay the maintenance arrears owed to Shilpi. This decision marks a significant step in ensuring that Varun’s abandoned wife receives her rightful support.
The case highlights the court’s firm stance on ensuring compliance with maintenance orders, even if it involves seizing family-owned assets to secure justice for the abandoned spouse.
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