In a significant ruling, the Bandra Family Court has directed Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Maharashtra Minister Dhananjay Munde to pay a monthly interim maintenance of Rs 2 lakh to his estranged wife and daughter amid ongoing legal disputes.
Dhananjay Munde, who serves as the Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, has been embroiled in a domestic violence case filed by his first wife back in 2020. While the court has yet to issue a final verdict on the primary allegations, it has responded to the plea for interim financial support.
The petitioner, who shares two children with Munde, sought the court’s intervention under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act to obtain interim maintenance and compensation. On Tuesday, the court partially granted her request, allotting Rs 1,25,000 per month for her and Rs 75,000 for their daughter.
However, the court declined to extend financial support to the couple’s other child, a son who has reached adulthood, stating that he does not qualify for maintenance under the current legal framework.
This legal development comes at a tumultuous time for Munde, who is also dealing with the fallout from the recent arrest of his close associate, Walmik Karad, in an extortion case. The case is linked to the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in Beed district, an area that is both politically significant for Munde and central to the ongoing investigations.
