J&K man who missed maintenance for a decade is set to lose buffalo to court auction
On December 15, Mohammad Saleem from Fatehpur village in Poonch’s Mandi will lose his buffalo — all because he failed to pay monthly maintenance to his wife and two minor children. Earlier this week, the UT administration issued notice to auction Saleem’s buffalo and calf to recover the court-mandated Rs 96,000 maintenance accruing over the last 10 years.
According to the auction notice issued by Mandi Tehsildar and Executive Magistrate First Class Ashfaq Hussain, the auction will start at 11.30 am on December 15 in Fatehpur, where the livestock are currently located. The base price for the auction — as assessed by Veterinary Assistant Surgeon C D Sathra — would be Rs 50,000 for the buffalo and Rs 3,000 for the calf. “The successful bidder will also have to pay 3 percent of the auction amount as procedural charges,” it added.
This came after Saleem failed to pay monthly maintenance to his wife Parveen Akhter and two minor children. According to the auction notice, these arrears, accruing since the court order on January 21, 2015, now stand at Rs 96,000.
When the case came up for hearing on November 17, the Poonch Police Station SHO told the court that the police had followed the court’s October 27 order and attached Saleem’s buffalo and calf. When the applicants reminded the court of the accrued maintenance sum, the court ordered the livestock to be auctioned under the supervision of the Executive Magistrate First Class, in the presence of the applicant or her authorised representative. It also ordered that the auction be conducted under the Executive Magistrate First Class. The court added that the auction would be suspended if the respondent deposited the entire arrears before the date.
