Mumbai: A magistrate court has ordered the properties of a deceased film financer's son and daughter-in-law found in their Carter Road, Bandra residence be attached to the case after they failed to pay his widow over Rs41 lakh in arrears since Oct 2021 in a domestic violence case she filed against them after her husband's demise.
After his death, the woman complained that her step-son and his wife harassed her. In February 2022, the Bandra magistrate had ordered the couple to pay a total of Rs2 lakh to her as interim maintenance. Then in September, the sessions court had increased the amount after she approached it, directing them to pay Rs2.75 lakh instead.
The latest order came on Jan 11, with the Bandra magistrate authorising the senior inspector of Bandra police station to “attach and recover any movable property” belonging to the couple found at their residence. As per the order, if the sum is not paid after seven days of the attachment, the properties may be sold to satisfy the sum due.
The magistrate's order came after the widow approached the apex court through her advocate Mathews J Nedumpara seeking the execution of the sessions court's September order, wherein her maintenance was hiked. A division bench of the Supreme Court on Jan 2 said that the executing court was duty-bound to enforce the September order promptly.
In her plea before the magistrate, the widow had sought that the couple be arrested as they would obstruct attachment of properties. She further sought that a residential flat in Bandra's Carter Road, their personal cars and jewellery of the wife among other properties be attached. She said that the couple had forcibly taken possession of all her personal belongings including expensive jewellery, 70 pairs of shoes, 30 handbags and three cars. She said after her husband's death, the couple had also taken control of all his estates and ousted her from home using the help of police.
