Case I: Anita Sen (name changed) went to her parents’ house for a week with her seven-year-old daughter. When she returned, her husband turned her out. A couple of weeks later, he filed a desertion case against Anita. He even denied her maintenance, saying she had left home on her own.

Case II: Ragini Mitra (name changed) was sent to her parents’ home by her husband while she was pregnant. And he refused to take her back after she gave birth to a daughter. Later, he filed a desertion case against Ragini and denied her maintenance.

Legal experts say many husbands are not providing maintenance to their wives after dumping them, twisting rulings of Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court.

The high court and then the apex court had ruled that a husband is not bound to pay maintenance to his wife if she leaves him “voluntarily, without any provocation”.

Soma Banerjee, a lawyer in Sealdah court, said: “Before leaving her husband’s home, my client Anita did not have any clue that she would not be allowed to return. There was no altercation between her and her husband. Nor did she go to her parents’ house against his wishes. In fact, her husband was very cordial to her when she left for her parents’ home.”

But when she returned, “her husband straightaway refused to let her in. He asked her to stay back at her parents’ house. A couple of weeks later, she learnt that her husband had filed a desertion suit against her”, Banerjee said.

And while the case was being heard, Anita’s husband refused to pay her maintenance, saying she had left him voluntarily.

Like Anita’s husband, there are many who are taking advantage of the court rulings, making out a case of desertion where there is none.

Agrees CPM legislator and former president of the state women’s commission Bharati Mutsuddi. She, however, feels the women are falling into the trap because of a lack of awareness about their rights.

“If a woman is thrown out of her in-laws’ house, she should immediately lodge a police complaint or report the matter to the state women’s commission. That will be an effective counter to the allegation of desertion and help her win the case against her husband,” said Mutsuddi.