Makhija continues to stay with her husband, who works with IBM and earns Rs 60,000 a month. She currently works as an accountant, earning Rs 4,000 a month.

Judicial Magistrate First Class A M Patankar, Cantonment Court, passed an interim order this month directing Sunil to pay her a monthly maintenance till the final disposal of the complaint.

The couple had shifted from Mumbai to Pune around a year ago, after Sunil Mahija (name changed) had bagged a job with IBM. Savita, a commerce graduate, had worked for nine years in Mumbai; after the shift, she initially opted to stay at home to look after their 11-year-old son. “When they were in Mumbai, Savita used to work and hand over her entire salary to Sunil. However, over three years ago, she had taken a break from work and that’s when he refused to give her money even for basic necessities like foodgrains or vegetables. She was then forced to take up work again. The situation repeated itself in Pune. Once again she was without a job and completely dependent on him,” said Savita’s brother, who did not wish to be named.

Sunita then took the accountant’s job in Pune, but Rs 4,000 was a measly salary after the Rs 6,500 she had earned in Mumbai.

Last December, Savita confronted her husband and asked him to give more money for household expenses. Her request only angered Sunil, who clobbered her landing her in Sassoon General Hospital for five days. “We filed the application under the Domestic Violence Act on December 5 and in March we had demanded that Rs 10,000 be paid as maintenance. It was orally agreed but he never gave her the money. In June, when we brought this to the notice of the judge during a hearing, the husband was directed to hand over whatever he had in his wallet at that time. He handed over Rs 3,000 and continued to give her the same amount for the past couple of months,” said advocate Asuntha Pardhe, who is representing Savita.

“However, neither Sunil nor his lawyer would turn up for the hearings and when we brought this to the notice of the judge, he passed the interim order,” said Pardhe.