Court Upholds Maintenance Order Against NCP's Dhananjay Munde

A sessions court dismissed NCP leader Dhananjay Munde's appeal against a magistrate's order directing him to pay maintenance to a woman claiming to be his first wife. Munde argued the order was arbitrary. The woman had filed a domestic violence case, and Munde recently resigned over a related controversy.

A sessions court has dismissed an appeal by NCP leader and former minister Dhananjay Munde, challenging an interim maintenance order directed by a magistrate. The order requires him to pay support to a woman claiming to be his first wife.

The additional sessions judge, Shaikh Akbar Shaikh Jafar, upheld the lower court's directive, though the detailed rationale was not immediately available. Munde contended in his appeal that he had never been married to the applicant, Karuna Munde, and criticized the magistrate's decision as arbitrary.

The magistrate's February 4 ruling ordered Munde to pay Karuna Munde Rs 1,25,000 per month and Rs 75,000 per month for their daughter. The case stems from a domestic violence claim filed in 2020. Munde's resignation last month was linked to the arrest of an aide in a separate murder investigation.

(With inputs from agencies.)