The High Court of Karnataka has directed the Stamps and Registration Department to create a charge on the immovable properties of a 70-year-old man to recover arrears of maintenance awarded by the courts to his wife and a disabled son for several years.
A division bench comprising Justice Anu Sivaraman and Justice Anant Ramanath Hegde issued the direction while allowing an appeal filed by the wife and the disabled children seeking higher maintenance as the Family Court had marginally increased it. The wife and the disabled children also complained about arrears due to the husband’s non-payment of maintenance regularly.
What Act says
Pointing out that Section 39 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, enables the arrears of maintenance can be a charge on the property, the Bench directed jurisdictional sub-registrar of the Stamps and Registration Department to make an entry in the encumbrance certificate of the husband’s property situated at Uttarahalli in Bengaluru South. Also, the Bench directed the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to make necessary entries in the property documents for the creation of a charge.
The bench said that if the wife provides details of her husband’s other immovable properties besides the one at Uttarahalli, both authorities will have to create charges and necessary entries in the records of those properties as well.
Enhanced amount
Meanwhile, the Bench enhanced maintenance amount to ₹5,000 per month each for the wife and the disabled son from the meagre ₹2,000 each per month awarded way back in 2002, when the wife had initially filed suit for maintenance after leaving the matrimonial home following cruelty by the husband. The Bench noted that the son, though a major now, is not capable of earning due to his disability.
In 2018, the Family Court enhanced the maintenance amount to ₹3,000 per month as against her plea of ₹5,000 per month each.
