T.Gopi v. M.Jayasudha@Bhavani
Case brief
What is this about?
Dismissal of appeals for non-payment of maintenance arrears; Madras HC dismisses husband's C.M.As against Family Court orders (his divorce petition dismissed, wife's restitution of conjugal rights petition allowed) because arrears of maintenance remained unpaid despite the Court's direction of 20.11.2024; relies on Kaushalya v. Mukesh Jain (2020) 17 SCC 822 and Rajnesh v. Neha (AIR 2021 SC 569) guidelines that non-payment permits defence to be struck off and the other side's case to proceed without hearing the defaulting party; appeal under Section 19 Family Courts Act, 1984 with Order XLI Rule (1) CPC 1908; V Additional Family Court, Chennai; no quantum of arrears stated; merits of divorce/restitution not decided.
What did the court decide?
In the light of the cited Supreme Court decisions (Kaushalya and Rajnesh) on striking off the defence for non-payment of maintenance, the Court was not inclined to allow the appellant/husband to prosecute the appeals without paying the maintenance.