Domestic violence victims’ heirs can claim maintenance arrears

Mumbai: In perhaps a first-of-its-kind order, a sessions court ruled that the legal heirs of domestic violence victims can recover maintenance arrears if the complainant dies during pendency of the case. On Friday, the court upheld a magistrate court order directing a 32-year-old Chembur resident to pay Rs 1.35 lakh in maintenance arrears to his mother-in-law. The amount was due to his estranged wife, Laxmi Waghmare, who died in October 2017.

The husband, Vikrant, had claimed there was no provision in Domestic Violence Act for legal heirs of a victim to be made party to cases. However, the sessions court said the liability to pay maintenance under the Act is not a criminal liability, though proceedings are stated as ‘criminal proceedings’. “But still, liability to pay arrears of maintenance, being statutory liability, will have to be treated as civil liability of the appellant (Vikrant) and therefore, the mother and the legal heir of the deceased will be entitled for recovery of arrears of maintenance,” the court said.

Laxmi filed a complaint in 2015 alleging harassment by her husband and in-laws and sought interim maintenance. After Laxmi died, her mother moved court and requested it to order for recovery of the interim maintenance amount.