Madras High Court Directs Family Court to Refer Matter for Mediation to Mediation Centre

S.Vigneshwaran v/s .M.Revathy and Anr. [C.M.A.No.2118 of 2023]

The Madras High Court directed the Family Court to refer the matter for mediation to Mediation Centre.

The division bench of Justice R.Subramanian and Justice R. Kalaimathi said that the amount awarded in its opinion would be just about sufficient for sustainance of one human being at the cost of living today. Merely because the petitioner has taken a study holiday or an Academic break, his duty to maintain his wife and child cannot take the back seat. Rs.12,500/- per month each person as of today is very meagre.

The Challenge in the appeal is to the order of interim maintenance granted at Rs.25,000/- for the wife and the minor daughter of the appellant. 

At the hearing, the wife apart from producing certain details of business that is carried on by the husband, also produced the details of the agricultural land holdings of the husband. Considering the cumulative effect of the documents that were produced, the learned Family Judge granted Rs.12,500/- per month each to the wife and the daughter as interim maintenance.

The bench observed that the counsel for the appellant submitted that there are already talks for settlement of the entire issue between the parties and if the matter is referred to mediation it would do a lot of good to the parties. 

The court, while dismissing the appeal devoid of merits, directed the Family Court to refer the matter for mediation to the Mediation Centre attached to the Principal City Civil Court, Chennai or to the Mediation Centre attached to the Court to enable the parties to arrive at a negotiated settlement.