Madhya Pradesh High Court: In a Criminal Revision filed by the wife for the enhancement of maintenance on the ground that the maintenance awarded by the Family Court is insufficient compared to the husband’s salary, a single-judge bench of G. S. Ahluwalia, J., allowed the revision and increased the maintenance amount to Rs. 7,500/- per month, ensuring that the wife received adequate financial support.
In the instant matter, the wife filed an application under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) seeking maintenance from her husband and the Family Court awarded her Rs. 5,000/- per month as maintenance, with the condition that this amount would be adjusted if she received maintenance under any other statute.
The wife argued that the Rs. 5,000/- awarded as maintenance is insufficient considering the respondent’s salary. On the other hand, the husband opposed the revision and contended that the maintenance awarded was fair in light of his other financial commitments, including a loan repayment of Rs. 13,700/- for house construction and his responsibility for his parents. The husband further pointed out that he is already paying Rs. 7,500/- per month under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act as per prior court order dated 13-12-2019.
The Court stated that loan is a voluntary deduction and the amount in lump sum is already received by the respondent in advance, which is being repaid by him in different installments, therefore, the said installment cannot be said to be a statutory and mandatory deduction. The Court noted that the loan taken by the respondent was voluntary and after the separation, suggesting that it was deliberately done by the respondent to bring down his net take home salary, therefore, the loan cannot be taken into consideration for calculating the quantum of maintenance.
The Court referred to Rajnesh v. Neha, (2021) 2 SCC 324, where the Supreme Court provided guidelines for determining maintenance and stressed on the need for a balance between the financial status of the parties and ensuring the dependent spouse is not left destitute. The Court referred to Bharat Hegde v. Saroj Hegde, 2007 SCC OnLine Del 622, where the Delhi High Court laid down the following factors to be considered for determining maintenance
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“Status of the parties.
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Reasonable wants of the claimant.
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The independent income and property of the claimant.
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The number of persons, the non-applicant has to maintain.
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The amount should aid the applicant to live in a similar lifestyle as he/she enjoyed in the matrimonial home.
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Non-applicant’s liabilities, if any.
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Provisions for food, clothing, shelter, education, medical attendance and treatment, etc. of the applicant.
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Payment capacity of the non-applicant.
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Some guesswork is not ruled out while estimating the income of the non-applicant when all the sources or correct sources are not disclosed.
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The non-applicant to defray the cost of litigation.
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The amount awarded under Section 125 CrPC is adjustable against the amount awarded under Section 24 of the Act.”
The Court noted that if the Rs. 5,000/- awarded by the Family Court was adjusted against the existing Rs. 7,500/- under the Domestic Violence Act, the applicant would effectively receive only Rs. 7,500/- in total, which is inadequate considering the inflation and cost of living.
The Court held that the maintenance amount of Rs. 5,000/- is insufficient and enhanced it to Rs. 7,500/-, subject to adjustment with the amount awarded under the Domestic Violence Act. The Court stated that the revised maintenance was to be paid from the date of the original application.
[Monika v. Praveen, 2024 SCC OnLine MP 5518, Decided on 09-09-2024]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
Shir Vinay Puranik, Counsel for the Applicant
Shri Dany Kumar Rathore, Counsel for the Respondent
Buy Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 HERE
