Pune: Court orders man to pay home loan instalments though husband and wife are separated

Pune: Husband and wife jointly own a house. If the man has been paying home loan instalments since the beginning and both separate, the man will have to pay instalments, ruled the court. It also stated that the woman cannot be rendered homeless and the man will have to take her responsibility too.

JMFC Amol Shinde gave this verdict in a domestic violence case. The decision stated that the husband would have to pay all outstanding instalments and the future instalments too.

Anita and Mahesh (names changed) work in the IT sector. They decided to purchase a house after marriage. It was decided that Mahesh would pay home loan instalments. He was paying them too but Mahesh left home due to differences with Anita. Later, he stopped paying home loan instalments. The bank started sending notices to the home address. Anita was unable to pay instalments. She approached the court through her legal counsels Adv Prateek Date and Adv Dhananjay Joshi.

Her legal counsels referred to the Santosh Naik vs Saubhagya (Kerala) verdict and argued that the woman could not pay home loan instalments as her income was low. She could be rendered homeless. She should get her right to live. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act stipulates that a woman should get accommodation matching her husband’s living standard. The man cannot make her homeless.

Adv Date and Adv Joshi said, “Paying home loan is the husband’s responsibility though he does not stay with the woman. The court restored her right to live and ordered the man to pay home loan instalments. The decision provided a big relief to the woman.”