“The applicant (woman) cannot be denied the benefits of this increased income of the husband,” the judge said.

New Delhi: Sounds unbelievable, but true! A millionaire husband has been directed by a Delhi court to pay his estranged spouse a whopping Rs 4 lakh maintenance every month with 15 per cent raise every year for deserting her and their sole minor daughter.

The fact that the husband figured in the list of “super-rich” category of a business magazine and the net worth of his business was around Rs 1,000 crore, was taken note by the court in fixing the maintenance.

Principal Judge Narottam Kaushal awarded additional 15 per cent per year raise in the maintenance amount for her and her daughter, noting that there was a “significant jump” in the income of the husband in two financial years which could not be ignored.

“The ranking of the family business in the ‘super-rich list’ and assets of these firms at Rs 921 crore published in Fortune 500 publication, indicates that the husband belongs to a very affluent business family of India,” the judge said, adding “he is the only son” who is living with his father.

It noted that the man’s income for the year 2011-12, when the maintenance application was filed, compared with income for the year of decision (2012-13) by a magisterial court earlier, showed a quantum jump of more than double the income.

“Whether this radical change was a result of accounting jugglery or a result of concealment, is a question, which this court would leave unanswered. However, the jump is too significant to be ignored.

“The applicant (woman) cannot be denied the benefits of this increased income of the husband,” the judge said. The woman, in her application filed through advocate Manav Gupta, had alleged that she was thrown out of her matrimonial house in March 2008 after which she had filed a petition in high court for maintenance.