2 Answers
Dear Client,
If your husband is absconding abroad u/s 498A for deliberately avoiding payment of maintenance, then the court can issue a recovery warrant, attach his immovable property, bank account, salary or movable property. It can also initiate coercive steps for non payment. Depending upon the stage of the criminal case the court can declare him as a proclaimed offender or absconder, if he is intentionally avoiding court proceedings.
To ensure his return to India and to prevent him from leaving the country the court can issue a Look Out Circular (LOC) upon request by your lawyer if he is avoiding appearance and warrants are pending. Once he reaches India he can be detained or appearance may be compelled by the court. In certain cases the court may also impound his passport or restrict renewal of his passport through the appropriate authorities.
You may also seek to recover your gold and other articles of stridhan through 498A or DV proceedings or by filing a separate application for return of the same with a detailed list and supporting proof. You should discourage yourself from signing any settlements or divorce petitions under emotional manipulation or from insistence from the opposite side, because you also have a minor daughter to look after for. The court will take into consideration the welfare, education and future financial security of both you and your daughter before awarding an order.
I hope this helps and if you have any further issues do not hesitate to contact us.
Dear Client,
With regards to your query on preventing him from leaving India when he returns and compelling his return, file an application before the court where the 498A case is pending, seeking issuance of look out circular against your husband. It is issued to the immigration authorities at all Indian airports and borders, and once issued, the person is detained the moment they arrive in India and prevented from departing if they are inside the country. Courts in criminal cases including 498A have the power to request the investigating police to issue an LOC through the relevant authority. This is your most powerful tool for both compelling his return and preventing departure.
About the 10 lakh rupees of arrears of maintenance, I will advise you to file an execution petition before the Family Court for recovery of the accumulated arrears. The court can attach any property your husband owns in India which involves land, flat, bank accounts, shares, or any other asset and sell it to satisfy the arrears. Even if he is abroad, his Indian assets remain within the jurisdiction of Indian courts. Simultaneously, my advise will be to file for enhancement of maintenance given the prolonged non payment and your daughter's growing needs.
About your query about the gold and streedhana held by your in laws, it is advisable to file a complaint under section 316 of BNS for criminal breach of trust against the in laws specifically for retention of your streedhana. The Supreme Court in Pratibha Rani vs Suraj Kumar held that streedhana is the absolute property of the wife and retention by in laws amounts to criminal breach of trust. The in laws can be prosecuted independently of your absconding husband.
On the settlement offer which is termed as "take it or leave it", you are under no legal obligation to accept an inadequate offer. The court has already adjudicated your rights through the 498A proceedings and any maintenance order.
I hope this helps, and if you have any further issues, do not hesitate to contact us.