Sekarreporter1: https://twitter.com/sekarreporter1/status/1399771184158318596?s=1006 [6/1, 22:24] Sekarreporter1: *GLIMPSE OF A LATEST VERDICT* *Crl.A. 730/2020* Rajnesh Vs. Neha & Anr. Dated: 04/09/2020 *Hon’ble Justice Indu Malhotra* disposed of the Appeal, upheld the Order of the Bombay High Court and
[6/1, 22:24] Sekarreporter1: https://twitter.com/sekarreporter1/status/1399771184158318596?s=1006
[6/1, 22:24] Sekarreporter1: *GLIMPSE OF A LATEST VERDICT*
*Crl.A. 730/2020*
Rajnesh Vs. Neha & Anr.
Dated: 04/09/2020
*Hon’ble Justice Indu Malhotra* disposed of the Appeal, upheld the Order of the Bombay High Court and further directed the Appellant to pay entire maintenance arrears within 12 weeks in the matter relating to *“Maintenance”* and further, in exercise of the powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India directed as follows:
i) Maintenance laws have been enacted as a measure of social justice to provide recourse to dependant wives and children for their financial support, so as to prevent them from falling into destitution and vagrancy
ii) It is well settled that a wife can make a claim for maintenance under different statutes. For instance, there is no bar to seek maintenance both under the D.V. Act and Section 125 of the Cr.P.C., or under H.M.A. If however, maintenance is awarded to the wife in a previously instituted proceeding, she is under a legal obligation to disclose the same in a subsequent proceeding for maintenance, which may be filed under another enactment and the Civil Court/ Family Court should take into account, the maintenance awarded in such previous proceedings and the Court would consider an adjustment or setoff of the amount awarded in the previous proceeding/s, while determining whether any further amount is to be awarded in the subsequent proceeding.
iii) In contemporary society, where several marriages do not last for a reasonable length of time, it may be inequitable to direct the contesting spouse to pay permanent alimony to the applicant for the rest of her life. The duration of the marriage would be a relevant factor to be taken into consideration for determining the permanent alimony to be paid.
iv) Despite judicial discretion conferred upon the Court to grant maintenance either from the date of application or from the date of the order in S. 125(2) Cr.P.C., it would be appropriate to grant maintenance from the date of application in all cases, including Section 125 Cr.P.C. The rationale of granting maintenance from the date of application finds its roots in the object of enacting maintenance legislations, so as to enable the wife to overcome the financial crunch which occurs on separation from the husband.
v) The order or decree of maintenance may be enforced like a decree of a civil court, through the provisions which are available for enforcing a money decree, including civil detention, attachment of property, etc. as provided by various provisions of the CPC, more particularly Sections 51, 55, 58, 60 read with Order XXI.
