Table of Contents
Introduction
Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides in India pertains to the maintenance of wives, children, and parents. It provides a legal remedy to individuals who are unable to maintain themselves and are dependent on others for their livelihood.
However, sometimes the husbands, against whom the order of maintenance is passed may not be satisfied with the judgment passed by the lower court and therefore, they should have a platform where they can put up their grievances against the order. Therefore they have the right to file the revision application in the court of law as provided under Section 397 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
Key provisions of Section 125 CrPC include
- Maintenance of Wives: A husband is obligated to provide for the maintenance of his wife if she is unable to maintain herself. The husband must provide a reasonable amount for her maintenance based on factors like his own income and the wife’s needs.
- Maintenance of Children: Parents are responsible for the maintenance of their legitimate or illegitimate minor children who are unable to maintain themselves. This obligation extends until the child attains the age of majority or becomes capable of earning a living.
- Maintenance of Parents: Adult children, who have sufficient means, are required to maintain their aged or infirm parents who are unable to maintain themselves.
- Procedure: An application for maintenance under Section 125 CrPC can be made by the wife, children, or parents who are seeking maintenance. The application is usually filed in the court of the Magistrate within whose jurisdiction the applicant resides. The Magistrate will then hold an inquiry and make an order for maintenance if the conditions are met.
- Enforcement: In case a person who is ordered to pay maintenance under this section fails to comply with the order, the Magistrate can enforce the order by attaching the defaulter’s property, or by issuing a warrant for the recovery of the amount due.
Scope and applicability of Section 125 CrPC
The scope and applicability of Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) are quite broad, as this section aims to provide a legal remedy for individuals who are unable to maintain themselves and are dependent on others for their livelihood. Here’s a more detailed explanation of the scope and applicability of Section 125 CrPC:
Applicability to Different Relationships:
- Wives: The section applies to wives, irrespective of their religion, who are unable to maintain themselves and need financial support from their husbands.
- Children: It applies to legitimate or illegitimate minor children (both sons and daughters) who are unable to maintain themselves. The obligation extends until they reach the age of majority or are capable of earning a living.
- Parents: The section applies to aged or infirm parents who are unable to maintain themselves and are dependent on their adult children for support.
Religion and Personal Laws:
- The section is applicable to all religions and communities in India. It is a secular provision that does not differentiate based on religious beliefs or personal laws. It applies uniformly to individuals of all religions.
Maintenance Amount:
- The amount of maintenance is determined based on factors such as the earning capacity of the person from whom maintenance is claimed and the needs of the person seeking maintenance. The objective is to provide a reasonable and fair amount to sustain the dependent person’s basic needs.
Jurisdiction:
- Applications for maintenance under Section 125 CrPC can be filed in the court of the Magistrate within whose local jurisdiction the person seeking maintenance resides or the person from whom maintenance is claimed resides or works.
Enforcement:
- In case of non-compliance with the maintenance order, the Magistrate has the power to enforce the order by attaching the defaulter’s property or issuing a warrant for recovery of the amount due.
Limitations:
- Maintenance under Section 125 CrPC is provided to individuals who are genuinely unable to maintain themselves. It is not meant to be a substitute for property disputes or alimony in divorce cases.
Criminal Nature:
- While the proceedings are conducted in a criminal court, the purpose is civil in nature — ensuring the financial support of dependent individuals. It is not meant to penalize the person responsible for maintenance.
Change in Circumstances:
- If there is a change in the circumstances of either the person seeking maintenance or the person providing maintenance, the court has the power to modify the maintenance order accordingly.
Purpose of Section 125 CrPC
- The intent behind Section 125 of the CrPC is to protect dependents who are unable to support themselves from starvation, misery, and vagrancy. It is social justice legislation that was specifically passed to safeguard women, children, and elderly parents.
- The main goal of Section 125 of the CrPC of 1973 is to support abandoned and impoverished wives, neglected and abandoned children, and vulnerable, elderly, and disabled parents. As a result, this provision promotes social welfare and social service. The Magistrate’s authority is primarily preventative in character rather than penal or punitive.
- The time-consuming, troublesome, heavy, process of civil law and litigation was sought to be avoided by providing a simple, quick, limited relief. This is because compulsion is (to some extent) imposed upon those persons whose duty it is to support their dependents who are unable to support themselves.
- No wife, child, or parent should be abandoned on the scrap heap of society to beg or to lure others to commit crimes against them or to commit crimes themselves. A contract that violates this responsibility and totally waives the right to support one’s own wife and young children cannot be regarded as legal.
The determination of the Quantum
- Inflation and increased standard of living paving way to the removal of ceiling.
- Unable to maintain herself relates to the actual and separate income of the wife and not the possible or potential income.
- The fixing of the amount shall go beyond the expenses for her primary needs.
- The date of effect shall be from the date of application, considering the delay.
- Besides personal income, the income from the corpus property of the liable person also shall be taken into account.
Landmark judgments
Pradeep Kumar v. Smt Bhawana and Anr (2022)
In a recent case of Pradeep Kumar v. Smt Bhawana and Anr (2022), Justice Asha Menon of the Delhi High Court observed that “to deny maintenance to an estranged wife and child is the worst offence, even from a humanitarian perspective.” While dismissing a petition by a husband contesting a Trial Court decision, Justice Asha Menon made an observation directing him to pay a sum of Rs. 20,000 as a consolidated amount towards interim maintenance to the wife and child till the resolution of the matrimonial dispute.
Facts of the case
The petitioner’s husband’s attorney claimed that Rs. 1,000,000 had been deposited with the Court Registry in accordance with this decision in order to cover the discrepancy. The petitioner further asserted that he was prepared to give the wife and child Rs. 4,000 per month in accordance with his monthly earnings of Rs. 28,000, which he had previously stated to the Family Court in his affidavit of income and expenditure. Additionally, it was claimed that the petitioner was open to keeping the wife and child as well as renting out a space for them to live separately.
Observation of the Delhi High Court
- Although the petitioner’s husband stated that the money had been paid through February 2022, the court noted that the wife and kid indicated that payments had only been made up until September 2021, or for seven months.
- The Court also voiced worry that spouses are pressuring their wives to file execution petitions in order to stop payments, even after a court has ruled that she is entitled, even if only temporarily. By judgement dated April 20, 2022, the High Court instructed the husband to deposit the difference between the amount determined by the Trial Court and the amount he was ready to pay, or Rs. 4,000, which he claimed he had paid to the wife in the form of an FDR up until February 2022.
- With the aforementioned observations, the court dismissed the petition and ordered the wife to pay Rs. 20,000 in fees in front of the Family Court on the next hearing date that had been scheduled.
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