Trader jailed for neglecting maintenance payments in Maharashtra

A fruit trader from Chakan has been sentenced to 30 days in jail for failing to pay maintenance dues to his wife and daughter. The man, 35, owes Rs 1.62 lakh for the period from March 3 to September 2, 2024. He did not comply with a court order, which led to his arrest. On March 25, Judicial Magistrate V P Khandare sentenced him to jail for disobeying the court order. The trader was arrested by Chakan police on a non-bailable warrant issued on March 4. He was taken to Yerawada Central Prison after saying he could not pay the maintenance fees. The court found that the trader showed no willingness to fulfill his legal responsibilities. Despite being given several opportunities to make the payments, he did not comply. Section 125 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Code allows the court to issue a warrant for unpaid maintenance. The couple married in 2013 but have been living separately since 2019 due to domestic disputes. In 2022, the wife filed for maintenance. The court awarded her Rs 27,000 per month, but her husband failed to make any payments, accumulating a total of Rs 14 lakh in unpaid dues. After multiple attempts to recover the payments, the wife sought a non-bailable warrant, which ultimately led to the trader's arrest. He previously requested time to pay the dues, but the court saw that past warrants had failed to recover the amount owed.