A Jaipur vendor who tried to reconcile with his estranged wife by handing her 280kg in loose change as alimony arrears was eventually paid back in his own coin.
Dashrath Kumawat’s charade to settle his Rs 55,000 debt to wife Seema with coins – of Re 1 and Rs 2 – packed in seven sacks and his lawyer’s insistence that they must be accepted as “legal tender” was exposed by a family court. On June 17, the court ordered Dashrath to count the coins and prepare 55 Rs 1,000 packets for the next hearing on June 26. If the task appears “too heavy,” he may seek assistance.
Seema’s lawyer, Ramprakash Kumawat, was not amused. “First and foremost, the husband has not paid maintenance for 11 months. Now he has brought Rs 55,000 in coins to harass his wife. “It will take ten days just to count them,” he worried.
Dashrath’s lawyer, Raman Gupta, attempted to dispel any notions of harassment, claiming that his client was a street vendor who was frequently paid in coins. Few believed it. On Seema’s complaint that Dashrath was evading maintenance, the court issued a recovery warrant against him.
