Odisha orders automatic salary cut for employees who default on maintenance payment to divorced wife: Here's how it will work

The Odisha government has introduced a mechanism to ensure that divorced or separated wives and children receive maintenance ordered by courts on time. Under the new directive, government employees who fail to pay court-mandated alimony or maintenance can have the amount deducted directly from their monthly salaries, a TOI report stated.

The order, issued following directions from Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, applies to state government employees. The deducted amount will be transferred electronically to the bank account of the person entitled to receive the maintenance.

The move comes after the Chief Minister’s Office received repeated complaints from women who said they were not receiving financial support despite court orders.

What Odisha government’s new alimony rule says

According to the guidelines, once a valid court order directing an employee to pay maintenance or alimony is received, the concerned department’s Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO) will deduct the specified amount from the employee’s salary.

The money will then be transferred to the beneficiary through an electronic payment.

The government also plans to integrate such cases with the state’s centralised Human Resource Management System (HRMS). This is expected to make the process more systematic and reduce delays in implementing court-ordered payments.

In effect, eligible beneficiaries will not have to depend entirely on the employee voluntarily making the monthly payment after a court has already issued an order.

Why Odisha brought in the directive

The Chief Minister’s Office said several complaints had reached it involving government employees who allegedly failed to honour maintenance or alimony orders.

Two to three such complaints, on average, were being received during grievance hearings, according to the CMO.

In some cases, women and children continued to remain without financial support even after judicial directions had been issued. The government has therefore sought to create a direct administrative mechanism for implementing such orders when the person responsible for payment is a state employee.

Majhi has also criticised government employees who disregard their legal obligations while receiving salaries from the state exchequer.

How salary deduction will work

The process outlined by the government is relatively straightforward:

• A court issues an order directing an employee to pay maintenance or alimony.
• The order is received by the concerned government department.
• The DDO deducts the specified amount from the employee’s salary bill.
• The amount is transferred electronically to the designated beneficiary.
• Details of such cases are to be incorporated into the HRMS system for monitoring and compliance.

The government has also indicated that complaints from affected women will help officials identify employees who are failing to comply with court directions.

Legal experts, activists welcome move

The decision has received support from legal professionals and women’s rights activists.

Senior advocate Pramod Mishra said the salary deduction mechanism could make court orders more effective by ensuring that they are implemented rather than remaining on paper.

Women’s rights activist Sunita Patnaik also welcomed the move, saying that enforcing maintenance orders has often involved prolonged struggles for women. She said connecting the process with HRMS could reduce harassment and make it easier for affected women and children to receive financial support.

The Odisha government’s latest step is specifically targeted at its own employees. Its broader aim is to ensure that a court-directed financial obligation is actually fulfilled, particularly in cases where dependants have been left waiting for support.