The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to Indian cricketer Mohammad Shami over a plea filed by his estranged wife, Hasin Jahan, challenging a Calcutta
High Court order that awarded her Rs 4 lakh in monthly maintenance. The bench, however, observed that the amount seemed “quite reasonable.” The petition, referring to Shami’s affluent lifestyle and his status as an A-list national cricketer, challenged the Calcutta High Court’s July 1 order that directed him to pay Rs 1.5 lakh per month to his wife and Rs 2.5 lakh to their daughter. The order was later upheld by a division bench on August 25. Both rulings have now been challenged in the current appeal. The Supreme Court bench of justices Manoj Misra and Ujjal Bhuyan said, "Why have you filed this? Isn't Rs 4 lakh per month quite handsome?" Earlier, the trial court had ordered Shami to pay Rs 80,000 per month for his daughter’s maintenance and Rs 50,000 for Hasin Jahan. Dissatisfied with the amount, Jahan approached the high court, which subsequently increased the payments. Appearing for Jahan, senior advocate Shobha Gupta and advocate Sriram Parakatt argued that Shami’s earnings were significantly higher than the maintenance amount determined by the court. “The respondent, Mohammad Shami, is leading a lavish lifestyle and deliberately misusing legal processes to avoid paying a fair maintenance amount to his wife and minor daughter,” the petition stated. It cited Shami’s own affidavit before the high court, which listed his monthly expenses at over Rs 1.08 crore and estimated his net worth at around Rs 500 crore. The plea further noted that Jahan has been unemployed since her marriage and has no independent source of income to support herself or her child. "If you want to mediate and settle, we can issue notice," the bench said, issuing notice to Shami and posting the matter after four weeks. The wife approached the Supreme Court in September, filing her petition through advocate Deepak Prakash. In it, she stated, “There exists a stark financial disparity between the parties, wherein the respondent (Shami), despite having all the means to provide a reasonable lifestyle to the petitioner and his daughter, is deliberately and tactfully failing to do the same. The respondent is leading an ultra-luxurious lifestyle, while deliberately leaving the wife and the minor daughter to suffer in penury.” Shami is already facing trial in a criminal case filed by Jahan in 2018 at Jadavpur, West Bengal, accusing him and his family of extreme cruelty. Jahan stated that she filed her petitions in the high court and the Supreme Court under the name “X” as she has been receiving death threats for pursuing the case. She has also separately approached the trial court seeking relief under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. In its July 1 order determining the interim maintenance, the high court observed, “In my considered opinion, awarding Rs 1,50,000 per month to the petitioner wife and Rs 2,50,000 to her daughter would be just, fair and reasonable to ensure financial stability for both petitioners until the final disposal of the main application.” According to Jahan, Shami also owes over Rs 2.4 crore in pending maintenance arrears - a claim the cricketer has contested. The high court had instructed him to clear the dues in eight monthly installments starting from September. The maintenance was initially ordered by the trial court in 2018 and later increased by the high court following Jahan’s appeal.
