This是高人民法院 dismissed an application under Section 482 CrPC challenging an interim maintenance order. The court held that an able-bodied person is legally obligated to maintain their wife and minor children and cannot avoid this duty merely by claiming limited earnings as a labourer.
Impugned order allowing interim maintenance was upheld.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
Court No. - 65 Case :- APPLICATION U/S 482 No. - 37798 of 2022 Applicant :- Bhagwati Pathak Opposite Party :- State Of U.P.And 2 Others Counsel for Applicant :- Om Singh Rathaur Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.
Hon'ble Rajiv Gupta,J.
Heard learned counsel for the applicant, learned AGA for the State and perused the record.
By means of this application, applicant has challenged the order dated 18.7.2022, by which application under Section 125 CrPC has been allowed and the applicant has been directed to pay a sum of Rs. 4,000/- per month as interim maintenance to the Opposite Party No.2 and Rs. 2000/- per month as interim maintenance to his minor daughter.
Learned counsel for the applicant has submitted that the applicant is working as a labourer, as such, he has limited means and is unable to provide maintenance fixed by the court to his wife and his daughter and as such, impugned order passed by the court below is bad in the eye of law being too excessive.
From the perusal of the record, it is evident that the Opposite Party No.2 is the wife of the applicant, who is an able bodied person. An ablebodied person has to be presumed to be capable of earning sufÏcient money so as to be reasonably able to maintain his wife and he cannot be heard to say that he is not in a position to earn enough to be able to maintain her according to the family standard. No cogent grounds have been canvassed as to why such able bodied person is unable for reasons beyond his control, to earn enough to discharge his legal obligation to maintain his wife.
Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Shamima Farooqui Vs. Shahid Khan, reported in (2015) 5 SCC 702 has observed as under:-
It can never be forgotten that the inherent and fundamental principle behind Section 125 CrPC is for amelioration of the financial state of affairs as
well as mental agony and anguish that woman suffers when she is compelled to leave her matrimonial home. The statute commands there has to be some acceptable arrangements so that she can sustain herself. The principle of sustenance gets more heightened when the children are with her. Be it clarified that sustenance does not mean and can never allow to mean a mere survival. A woman, who is constrained to leave the marital home, should not be allowed to feel that she has fallen from grace and move hither and thither arranging for sustenance. As per law, she is entitled to lead a life in the similar manner as she would have lived in the house of her husband. And that is where the status and strata of the husband comes into play and that is where the legal obligation of the husband becomes a prominent one. As long as the wife is held entitled to grant of maintenance within the parameters of Section 125 CrPC, it has to be adequate so that she can live with dignity as she would have lived in her matrimonial home. She cannot be compelled to become a destitute or a beggar. There can be no shadow of doubt that an order under Section 125 CrPC can be passed if a person despite having sufÏcient means neglects or refuses to maintain the wife. Sometimes, a plea is advanced by the husband that he does not have the means to pay, for he does not have a job or his business is not doing well. These are only bald excuses and, in fact, they have no acceptability in law. If the husband is healthy, able bodied and is in a position to support himself, he is under the legal obligation to support his wife, for wife's right to receive interim maintenance under Section 125 CrPC, unless disqualified, is an absolute right.
In view of settled legal position, enumerated above, impugned order is just, proper and legal and does not suffer from any illegality, infirmity or jurisdictional error.
Present application filed under section 482 Cr.P.C. being devoid of merit is accordingly dismissed.
Order Date :- 13.1.2023 R
Digitally signed by :- RAM ASARE MORYA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
2 issues framed by the court
Whether Section 482 CrPC requires quashing of an interim maintenance order fixed for an able-bodied applicant.
Whether a labourer pleading inability to pay maintenance due to limited means constitutes a valid ground to reject the order.
Colour shows how this judgement treated each authority
Shamima Farooqui Vs. Shahid KhanReferred¶7
(2015) 5 SCC 702 · Who else cites this
2 provisions across 1 enactments
Bhagwati Pathak
State Of U.P.
Rajiv Gupta
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
