Lockdown effect: In the midst of job losses and wage cuts comes the demand for waivers and cuts in maintenance | Mumbai News

As job losses and salary cuts were widespread across all sectors during the four months that the city imposed a lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, family court lawyers fielded calls from clients seeking the court's intervention for a waiver or a Wives and children demanded reductions in maintenance payments for separated persons.

An actor, who paid Rs 70,000 a month as maintenance to his former wife and son, has been jobless due to the lockdown and has expressed that he could not pay even half of the amount as his income had reduced to zero.

“The woman is a journalist and has a steady snack, although there may be a pay cut, but in his case his income has been reduced to zero.” First he called me and said he could pay 30,000 rupees alimony and now he says “He couldn’t even afford it because he had no income during the months of lockdown,” said family court lawyer Vandana Shah. She said her client asked why he should continue to pay this amount for daily needs when he was paying for the child's school fees, extracurricular activities and trips abroad.

Many divorce cases filed in the Family Court in Bandra involve payment of maintenance or recovery of maintenance arrears. Although the tendency to avoid paying maintenance to the wife is widespread, family court lawyers said that in most cases the courts have acted strictly in such cases and ensured that the wife received the payment she was entitled to, regardless of whether it was a divorce or domestic violence.

However, in view of the pandemic and the associated job and income losses, the courts must also take new facts into account when deciding on maintenance disputes.

Shah said amid the lockdown, even the Bombay High Court had granted relief to a man who was unable to pay interim maintenance because he had lost his job. The court reduced the alimony amount, she said.

“It's only getting worse because with the pandemic and people losing their jobs, judges have also become very sparse and not getting jobs back,” Shah said.

During the months of lockdown, the family court worked with 15 percent staff. While all judges continue to hear cases online, cases will be prioritized based on urgency. The court's 14 marriage counselors also carried out their work via video conference. Petitions are submitted online and given a token number for the next day to submit documents for verification. A screening counter has been set up outside and no one other than staff and lawyers will be allowed into the building, where a strict hygiene protocol will be followed, a court official said.

In cases where a waiver or reduction in maintenance amounts is sought, family court lawyers have already drafted interim applications, but advocate Mridula Kadam said that in such cases they would have to file an interim application citing “changed circumstances” and request the court to review his previous application in which the maintenance order can be issued.

“I received a call from a banker who said he could no longer pay the same amount of maintenance he was paying because he had to take a pay cut. It is easier for an employee to prove the reduction in his income with a salary certificate, but it is more difficult for entrepreneurs. As in the case of a restaurateur, he has to prove that the restaurant was closed for so many months and he had no income,” Kadam said.

This is an “obvious consequence” of job losses and wage cuts, said lawyer Amit Karkhanis. “Once the courts fully reopen, there will be several requests to change maintenance amounts. They all seek a reduction in maintenance, perhaps proportional to the husband's income. However, this can be hard for women,” Karkhanis said.

Women's rights lawyer Veena Gowda said the pandemic and job losses could be just another excuse for men trying to evade paying alimony. The situation will have a greater negative impact on economically disadvantaged women. She said the courts must intervene to ensure immediate relief for women. This is also a good time to revisit marriage law, she said.

“We really tend to ignore patriarchy when we look at the concept of 'family.' If we look at the cases pending before the family court, many cases involve the recovery of (maintenance) arrears. Even in the middle class and upper middle class, it becomes an excuse not to pay and harass the woman. They know that the courts will not do much now because their matters will no longer be as urgent,” Gowda said.

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First uploaded on: 30-07-2020 at 03:14 IST