HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND
Smt. Sunita Chettri – Appellant
Versus
Sh. Bijoy Chettri – Respondent
FA 18 / 2018
##PAGE1##
Office Notes,
reports, orders
or proceedings
SL.
Date or directions COURT’S OR JUDGE’S ORDERS
No.
and Registrar’s
order with
Signatures
FA No. 18 of 2018
With
FA No. 19 of 2018
Hon’ble Ravindra Maithani, J.
Hon’ble Alok Mahra, J.
Mr. Sagar Kothari, learned counsel,
holding brief of Mr. Ramji Srivastava, learned
counsel for the appellant.
2. Mr. Philip D’souza, learned counsel for
the respondent.
3. In these appeals, by order dated
07.06.2023, this Court directed the respondent
to pay a sum of ₹25,000/- per month towards
maintenance of the son of the parties with
effect from June, 2023. The respondent has
consistently failed to comply with the said
order. The chronology of events subsequent to
the order dated 07.06.2023 has already been
noticed by this Court in its order dated
08.12.2023, which reads as follows:
“On 07.06.2023, this Court has
directed the respondent to pay Rs. 25,000/-
per month from June, 2023 onwards for
maintenance of the son of the parties and list
the case for 08.08.2023. Thereafter, on
08.08.2023 the events that took place is as
follows:-
On 08.08.2023, the respondent
submitted before the Court that he has
already filed a special leave petition to assail
the orders dated 22.05.2023 and
07.06.2023. Respondent did not pay the
amount of maintenance. The Division Bench
of this Court, on that date, observed as
hereunder:-
“In our view, the filing of the SLP
is a mere ploy to disobey the orders of
this Court.”
The Court on that date issued a
contempt notice to the respondent to show
cause as to why contempt proceedings may
not be drawn against the respondent for
##PAGE2##wilful and deliberate disobedience of the
Court’s order and list the case for
24.08.2023.
On 24.08.2023, bailable warrants were
issued for production of the respondent.
4. It appears that against the order dated
08.08.2023, the respondent preferred SLP
Nos. 26232-26233 of 2023, which came to
be dismissed on 08.12.2023. Yet despite
dismissal of the SLP, the respondent still did
not pay the maintenance amount.
5. On 08.10.2024, the respondent was
again directed to make payment, but he
failed to do so. On 24.03.2025, he once
again sought an adjournment. On the last
date i.e. on 01.09.2025, when questioned by
the Court regarding non-payment, learned
counsel for the respondent again sought
time. On that occasion, this Court observed:
“the husband may give a demand draft
of the balance amount and it may be
sent to his wife or he may give it to the
counsel in the Court, whatever the
manner, the husband proposes to make
payment.”
6. The respondent has flagrantly violated
the orders of this Court. After the initial
order, he repeatedly delayed making
payments. Even after dismissal of his SLP in
December 2023, nearly two years have
passed without compliance. Though learned
counsel for the appellant submits that the
appeal has been pending for long and that
no adjournment was sought by the
appellant, the record shows that it is the
respondent who has also sought
adjournment and time for payment.
7. Be that as it may, today it is submitted
that another SLP is being filed and,
therefore, a further adjournment of seven
days is sought.
8. Considering the respondent’s past
conduct of non-compliance and repeated
false assurances given to the Court, this
Court would have no option but to issue
recovery warrant for the amount due as
##PAGE3##arrears of land revenue. However, the Court
refrains from issuing such warrant today as
the seven days’ time is sought by the
respondent.
9. Accordingly, the matter is adjourned
and listed for 23.12.2025 along with
connected appeal.”
4. Today, when the matter is taken up,
learned counsel for the respondent submits
that the respondent has preferred a Special
Leave Petition against the order dated
01.09.2025.
5. It is pertinent to note that this
submission was made even on the previous
occasion. However, a perusal of the order dated
01.09.2025 would reveal that this Court did
not adjudicate any issue on merits on that
date. In fact, in paragraph 4 of the said order,
this Court merely required learned counsel for
the respondent
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