A 43-year-old physically challenged man from Delhi's Kalkaji area has gone for crowdfunding to arrange about Rs 5 lakh in alimony that he needs to pay his wife to settle their divorce case.

Shiv Kumar, who was a newspaper distributor, became permanently disabled after his two-wheeler was hit by a bus. Having suffered serious head injury, he was bedridden for almost a year.

During this time, he lost all sources of earning and exhausted his savings. His terms with his wife, already sour, aggravated with cases of domestic violence against him and his family.

Mail Today contacted the former lawyer of Shiv Kumar's wife and made several phone calls and left text messages with her but she was not available for comment.

Shiv says his wife left him on the day of the accident after doctors said his condition was extremely critical and he may not live.

"The accident took place eight months after my wedding. My wife and I had some problems since the beginning as she did not want me to take care of my parents especially my bedridden father and other family members. When she got to know that I might not live, she left me," he alleged.

A few months later, Shiv and his family were slapped with domestic violence charges. "My wife had filed a complaint at Kalkaji police station but when the cops saw my critical condition they asked her to reconcile and take care of me," he said.

Shiv eventually recovered and had started taking on the responsibilities of his family when one day in 2013, doctors told him he had cancer in his pancreas.

Shiv was put through chemotherapy and biopsy five times, only to realise that it was tuberculosis that had spread in his body, leaving his right side paralysed.

"During my treatment, I suffered several paralytic attacks because of which the right side of my body is extremely weak and I am mostly on a wheelchair," he said.

"My wife at the same time once again slapped a domestic violence case which has been going on for over a decade now."

The court had asked him to pay maintenance of Rs 4,000 to his wife every month. However, with no job or source of income, he was sent to Tihar three times for not being able to pay up, most recently in December last year. He was released in February.

His advocate, Pradeep Kumar, told Mail Today that Shiv has borrowed money from his friends and others to pay the maintenance to his wife.

"As of now, my client is not even in a position to arrange for his own medication and treatment," he said.

Men's rights activist and filmmaker, Deepika Bharadwaj, who is helping Shiv in crowdfunding, told Mail Today, "Shiv Kumar's case is a striking example of a quote by a former Supreme Court judge who said, 'Beg, borrow or steal but pay maintenance to your wife'. There have been cases where helpless husbands have offered to sell their kidneys in order to pay maintenance to their able-bodied wives who can very well work and earn, because if they don't pay they are thrown in jail."

"It's been a decade of struggle for Shiv Kumar and even with extreme sickness he has been thrown into Tihar in the past. The system is extremely biased against men. I am trying to help a needy in whatever way I can," she added.

Bhardwaj said that knowing his story, many people came forward with the intent to help him look for employment, but because of his disability he could not get a job.

"Now when the decision on final settlement happened, he asked for help and I thought a crowdfund through Milaap (a crowdfunding platform) would be the most appropriate way," she said.