Atanu Sarkar Vs Mampi Roy Sarkar — Maintenance and Alimony | Calcutta HC (2025)

Atanu Sarkar Vs Mampi Roy Sarkar — Maintenance and Alimony | Calcutta HC (2025)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Impugned order dated 9.5.2024 set aside; both parties to file affidavit of assets and liabilities within one month; Trial Court to dispose of the maintenance application preferably within six months thereafter, with opportunity to the opposite party to object; petitioner to pay interim maintenance of Rs. 8,000/- per month till disposal.

Issue for consideration

Whether the ex parte maintenance order dated 9.5.2024 passed under section 125 Cr.P.C. without compliance with the mandatory directions in Rajnesh v. Neha (affidavit of assets and liabilities) should be set aside and the matter returned to the Court below for fresh disposal.

Court's answer

The Court below passed the impugned ex parte maintenance order without complying with the mandatory direction in Rajnesh v. Neha and without any direction to the parties to file affidavit of assets and liabilities.

Ratio / Principle

Both parties are directed to file affidavit of assets and liabilities in the format prescribed in the judgment (Rajnesh v. Neha) before the Court below within one month; the Trial Court is to dispose of the maintenance application expeditiously, preferably within six months of such filing, without being influenced by any observation made herein, and the opposite party is to be given opportunity to file objection against the prayer for maintenance.

Key takeaways

The impugned order dated 9.5.2024 is set aside.ratio¶12
Until disposal of the maintenance application by the Trial Court, the petitioner is to pay Rs. 8,000/- per month by the 10th day of each succeeding English calendar month.ratio¶12

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Calcutta High Court (Circuit Bench at Jalpaiguri), Criminal Revisional Jurisdiction — C.R.R. 374 of 2024, decided 04.03.2025 by Dr. Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee, J. The Court set aside an ex parte order dated 9.5.2024 passed by the Court below under section 125 Cr.P.C., which had awarded maintenance of Rs. 5,000/- per month to the wife and Rs. 10,000/- per month to the minor daughter, because it was passed without complying with the mandatory direction in Rajnesh v. Neha (AIR 2021 SC 569) requiring affidavit of assets and liabilities. Both parties were directed to file such affidavits in the prescribed format within one month; the Trial Court is to dispose of the maintenance application expeditiously, preferably within six months of filing, without being influenced by any observation made in this order, giving the opposite party opportunity to file objection. Pending disposal, the petitioner is to pay interim maintenance of Rs. 8,000/- per month by the 10th day of each succeeding English calendar month.

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04.03 2025 Ct. No. 3

Calcutta High Court In the Circuit Bench at Jalpaiguri Criminal Revisional Jurisdiction

C.R.R. 374 of 2024 Sri Atanu Sarkar Vs. Smt. Mampi Roy Sarkar

Mr. Avrojyoti Das Mr. Rajdeep Das …For the Petitioner Mr. Swarup Kumar Mondal Ms. Satyaki Basu …For the Opposite Party

This application has been preferred being aggrieved by the order dated 9^th May, 2024 by which the Court below disposed of the opposite party/wife’s prayer for maintenance filed under section 125 Cr.P.C. ex parte. By the impugned order learned Court below directed to pay maintenance amount to the tune of Rs. 5,000/- per month for herself and Rs. 10,000/- per month for her minor daughter from the date of filing of the application.

Being aggrieved by that order, petitioner herein submits that they came to know about the proceeding and the ex parte order, when an execution case had been initiated by the opposite party/herein to realize maintenance amount. The petitioner/husband submits that he wants to contest the said application.

Having heard the learned Counsel appearing on behalf of both the parties and on perusal of the order impugned it appears that the Court below has passed the order without complying the mandatory direction passed by the Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of Rajnesh Vs. Neha , reported in AIR 2021 SC 569 n or any direction was made by the

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Court below before passing the order impugned to file affidavit of assets and liabilities.

In such view of the matter, the present application, being C.R.R. 374 of 2024 is hereby disposed of with a direction upon both the parties to file affidavit of assets and liabilities in the format prescribed in the judgment before the Court below within a period of one month from the date of passing this order and in the event of filing such affidavit of assets and liabilities by both the parties before the Court below, the Trial Court will dispose of the application as expeditiously as possible preferably within a period of six months from the date of filing such affidavit of assets and liabilities by the parties without being influenced by any observation made herein. The Court below will also give opportunity to the opposite party to file objection, if any, against the prayer for maintenance.

The order impugned dated 9.5.2024 is hereby set aside. However, the petitioner herein will go on paying Rs. 8,000/- per month within 10^th day of each succeeding month as per English Calendar month till disposal of the maintenance application by the Trial Court.

Urgent Photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be given to the parties, on priority basis, upon compliance of all requisite formalities.

(Dr. Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee, J. )