Manveer Singh Vs State of U.P. and Another — Maintenance and Alimony | Allahabad HC (2023)

Manveer Singh Vs State of U.P. and Another — Maintenance and Alimony | Allahabad HC (2023)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Impugned order dated 15.02.2022 passed in Criminal Misc.Case No.633 of 2021 (Smt. Priyanka vs. Manveer Singh) under Section 125 Cr.P.C. set aside; court below directed to ask the parties to file affidavits of assets and liabilities in the light of the decision in Rajnesh v. Neha and decide the interim maintenance application afresh after affording opportunity of hearing to both parties.

Issue for consideration

Whether the criminal revision against the interim maintenance order dated 15.02.2022 is maintainable, the impugned order being alleged to be interlocutory in nature. +1 more

Court's answer

An order of interim maintenance is not an interlocutory order; this Bench is vested with the jurisdiction to hear a revision filed against an order of interim maintenance; the preliminary objection to maintainability is therefore not sustainable.

Ratio / Principle

Without going into the merits, the impugned order is liable to be set aside on the ground alone that the court below neither directed the parties to file affidavits of assets and liabilities as prescribed in the guidelines of the Apex Court in Rajnesh v. Neha, nor were any such affidavits filed; the matter is to be remitted back to the court below to decide the interim maintenance application afresh.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Criminal revision against an order of interim maintenance under Section 125 Cr.P.C. is maintainable — such an order is not interlocutory; the preliminary objection founded on a coordinate Bench order (Criminal Revision No. 1887 of 2022, decided 05.01.2023) was rejected. The Family Court, Mainpuri had allowed Rs.6000/- per month interim maintenance to opposite party no.2 without asking the parties to file, and without any filing of, affidavits of assets and liabilities as prescribed in the guidelines of the Hon'ble Apex Court in Rajnesh v. Neha (Criminal Appeal No.730 of 2020, decided 4 November, 2020). On this ground alone the order dated 15.02.2022 was set aside and the interim maintenance application remitted to the court below to be decided afresh after taking the affidavits of assets and liabilities and affording opportunity of hearing to both parties.

Neutral Citation No. - 2023:AHC:101956

Court No. - 90

Case :- CRIMINAL REVISION No. - 1510 of 2023

Revisionist :- Manveer Singh Opposite Party :- State of U.P. and Another Counsel for Revisionist :- K.K.Rao,Santosh Kumar Pandey Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.,Varun Mishra

Hon'ble Syed Aftab Husain Rizvi,J.

Learned counsel for the revisionist and learned AGA for the State are present.

This criminal revision has been filed against the order dated 15.02.2022 passed by Principal Judge, Family Court, Mainpuri in case no.633 of 2021 (Smt. Priyanka vs. Manveer Singh). By the impugned order the learned court below has allowed the interim maintenance application and has awarded Rs.6000/- per month as interim maintenance to the opposite party no.2.

Learned counsel for opposite party no.2 raised a preliminary objection that the impugned order is interlocutory in nature, hence the revision is not maintainable. He relied on the order passed in criminal revision no.1887 of 2022 dated 05.01.2023 by coordinate Bench of this Court.

The order of interim maintenance is not an interlocutory order. This Bench is vested with the jurisdiction of hearing revision filed against order of interim maintenance. Hence this objection is not sustainable.

Without going into the merits of the case, it is apparent from the perusal of the impugned order that the learned court below has neither asked the parties to file the affidavits of assets and liabilities as prescribed in the guidelines of Hon'ble Apex Court in Rajnesh Versus Neha and another in Criminal Appeal No.730 of 2020 (arising of SLP (Crl) No.9503 of 2018) decided on 4 November, 2020 nor of the parties have filed any affidavit of assets and liabilities as required, which is necessary. So without going into the merits of the other materials, the impugned order is liable to be set aside on this ground alone and the matter may be remitted back to the court below to decide the interim maintenance application afresh, after taking affidavits of assets and liabilities of

the parties.

Accordingly, the revision is allowed . The impugned order dated 15.02.2022 passed by learned Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Mainpuri in Criminal Misc.Case No.633 of 2021 (Smt. Priyanka vs. Manveer Singh) under Section 125 Cr.P.C., Police Station is set aside. The court below is directed to ask the parties to file affidavits of assets and liabilities in the light of decision of Hon'ble Apex Court in Rajnesh Versus Neha and another in Criminal Appeal No.730 of 2020 (arising of SLP (Crl) No.9503 of 2018) decided on 4 November, 2020 and decide the interim maintenance application afresh, after affording opportunity of hearing to both the parties.

O rder Date :- 11.5.2023 C. MANI

Digitally signed by :- CHANDRAMANI VERMA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad