In a peculiar case, a 37-year-old man from Coimbatore showed up at the extra family court with INR 80,000 in coins to give his divorced wife temporary alimony. After his wife filed for divorce last year, the Vadavalli-based call cab owner was ordered to pay INR 2 lakh in interim support.
He brought 20 bundles of INR 2 and INR 1 coins on Wednesday, unloaded them from his car and entered the court building. The judge instructed him to pay using money notes once he turned in the sum. Discussions over the event began when a video of the man carrying the bundles of coins out of the court went viral on social media.
He transformed the money into notes and paid it over as instructed when he returned to court on Thursday. He is now required by the court to pay the remaining INR 1.2 lakh as soon as possible.
Despite being lawful, the man’s actions caused the court logistical difficulties and generated conflicting responses on the internet. While some regarded it as an annoyance, others saw it as an attempt to vent his dissatisfaction.
This comes as the Supreme Court emphasised on Thursday that legislation passed for women’s welfare shouldn’t be abused as tools to harass, threaten, or coerce their husbands. The highest court emphasised that alimony is intended to give the dependent woman an acceptable standard of life, not to level the financial playing field between ex-spouses.
The Supreme Court’s ruling coincided with the fury of techie Atul Subhas, who said that his estranged wife and her relatives had sought INR 2 lakh in maintenance each month, eventually raising the figure to INR 3 crore annually.
