New Delhi: The Supreme Court, on Friday, issued notice to Indian cricketer Mohammad Shami in a petition by his estranged wife Hasin Jahan, seeking more monthly maintenance.
The Court, however, remarked that the monthly payout of Rs 4 lakh by Shami for his wife and minor daughter sounds “quite reasonable”.
Jahan, in her petition, pointed to Shami’s lifestyle and his A-list national cricketer status that makes him a high-net worth individual. She challenged the July 1 order passed by the Calcutta HC that fixed Rs 1.5 lakh as maintenance for the wife and Rs 2.5 lakh for their daughter, to be paid every month. A division bench of the High Court upheld this order on August 25.
“Why have you filed this? Isn’t Rs 4 lakh per month quite handsome?” the SC bench of Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said.
Initially, a trial court had directed Shami to pay Rs 80,000 per month towards his daughter’s monthly maintenance and Rs 50,000 for Jahan. This was challenged by his wife before the High Court, which increased the amounts.
Her counsel told the Court that Shami’s income is far greater than the maintenance amount fixed by the court.
“Shami is living a lavish life and is deliberately manipulating the courts for the sole purpose of not providing equitable amount of maintenance to the petitioner and minor daughter,” it was submitted by Jahan.
According to her, the pacer’s monthly expense is over Rs 1.08 crore. This is as per an affidavit filed by Shami in the High Court. His net worth is estimated to be about Rs 500 crore, the petition claimed, adding that the wife is unemployed since her marriage and has no independent source of income to meet her daily needs and that of her child.
“If you want to mediate and settle, we can issue notice,” the SC bench remarked, while issuing notice to Shami and posting the matter after four weeks.
Jahan had moved the top court in September. In her petition filed through advocate Deepak Prakash, she said: “There exists a stark financial disparity between the parties, wherein the respondent (Shami), despite having all the means to provide a reasonable lifestyle to the petitioner and his daughter, is deliberately and tactfully failing to do the same. The respondent is leading an ultra-luxurious lifestyle, while deliberately leaving the wife and the minor daughter to suffer in penury.”
The cricketer is also facing trial in a criminal case filed by Jahan in West Bengal’s Jadavpur in 2018, alleging extreme cruelty caused by him and his family. She even told the Apex Court she chose to file her petition in the name of “X” as she is facing death threats for pursuing the matter. She has separately moved the trial court seeking relief under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
Shami is also liable to pay past arrears of maintenance to the tune of over ₹2.4 crore, Jahan has claimed. The cricketer has disputed the sum. The High Court had directed him to clear the pending arrears in eight monthly installments beginning September.