‘Wife earning not enough to deny relief’: Calcutta HC raises Mohammed Shami’s monthly maintenance to estranged wife, daughter; cricketer to pay Rs 4L instead of Rs 1.3L
Times of India | 2 July 2025
The court raised the amounts to Rs 1,50,000 and Rs 2,50,000 per month, respectively, acknowledging that a wife's income doesn't negate her right to monetary relief.
KOLKATA: The Calcutta HC on Tuesday increased the interim maintenance amount to be provided by cricketer Mohammed Shami to his estranged wife Hasin Jahan and their daughter from Rs 50,000 and Rs 80,000 to Rs 1,50,000 and Rs 2,50,000 per month, respectively.
Justice Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee reiterated that it was a settled law that even if the wife is earning, it is not sufficient to rule out the application for monetary relief. "Therefore, while it is true that the question of awarding an excessive amount of monetary relief does not arise, awarding a very low amount also cannot be accepted," the judge held.
Hasin Jahan had asked for Rs 7 lakh per month for herself and Rs 3 lakh for her daughter. Her counsel, Imtiaz Ahmed, submitted that Shami's total income is around Rs 7,19,54,010. They challenged the lower court's mechanical granting of interim relief of Rs 50,000 and Rs 80,000. Ahmed stated Hasin Jahan's income to be Rs 16,000, whereas her monthly expenditure is around Rs 6,12,905. However, Shami's counsel, Sandipan Ganguly, submitted that the petitioner had falsely depicted herself to be a destitute person.
"I have lost almost everything while fighting for my rights in the last seven years. I couldn't admit my daughter to a better school. I am thankful to the court," Jahan told TOI.