Guwahati, June 2: A family court in Kamrup (metro) district in Assam has asked a person to pay one-time alimony of Rs 1 crore to his former wife within six months, on grounds of domestic violence.

Justice N. Rajkumari, principal judge, family court, Kamrup (metro) observed that considering the status of the husband and his income, his capability to pay and the standard of living of the wife to which she was used to before the break-down of marriage entitles the wife for a permanent alimony of Rs 1 crore as one-time amount.

The family court gave its ruling on May 26 after hearing a case of matrimonial dispute between a wealthy and highly-educated young couple who parted ways in 2014.

A copy of the order was, however, made available to The Telegraph today by a lawyer involved in the case.

As the story goes, last year, Nishita (name changed ) filed an application under Section 37 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 before the family court, seeking permanent alimony from her husband Arnab (name changed) and also sought divorce on the grounds of domestic violence perpetuated upon her while she was in the US.

The court had granted divorce to the applicant in the early part of this year.

The contention of Nishita in her petition seeking alimony is that before her marriage she was employed as a lecturer in a reputed college of Guwahati .

However, after marriage, she had to resign and leave the job to join her husband in the US.

Since then, Nishita was totally dependent on her husband.

Nishita alleged that she was compelled to return to India because of unbearable acts of cruelty and violence inflicted on her by her husband during her stay.

She said since her return to India (Guwahati) on July 8, 2014, she was abandoned and not provided any maintenance by her husband. Nor did her in-laws in Guwahati provide any shelter or financial assistance.

Since then, Nishita has been staying with her parents in Guwahati and surviving on their kindness, the petition said.

According to the petitioner, Arnab was holding a highly-paid job in a data analytics company.

Responding to the petition claiming alimony, Arnab contended though his wife is a competent and qualified person to maintain herself, she had not engaged herself in any employment on purpose.

Arnab's advocates had submitted before the family court that a well-qualified wife was not entitled to remain idle and claim maintenance from her husband.

Senior counsel Bhaskar Dev Konwar who assisted Nishita as amicus-curiae, said just because the wife was a post-graduate, it would not be sufficient to hold that she was in a position to maintain herself.

"A husband cannot get disregard the wife's claim for maintenance on the ground that the wife is sufficiently qualified to get a job or is supported by her father. In granting permanent maintenance and alimony, the capacity of the wife to earn or her potential income is not taken into account," Konwar said.

It is a case where the offence was committed abroad and the jurisdiction of the court in Guwahati was invoked since the marriage was registered there.

Konwar said the case was another glaring example of how women - even those who are highly qualified - have been found to be the victims of domestic violence after marriage.