Maintenance For Wife & Children: Under Section-125 Cr.P.C.

Maintenance Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

• Section-125, 127 & 128 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, deal with the captioned subject as to how to secure maintenance for the wife, children and other dependents through the Court of law. These provisions of law are available for any Indian National, be it Hindu, Muslim or Christian. The gist of these provisions of law is as follows:

  If any person having sufficient means neglects or refuses to maintain:

  1. his wife, unable to maintain herself, or

  2. his legitimate or illegitimate minor child, whether married or not, unable to maintain itself, or

  3. his father or mother, unable to maintain himself or herself,

  a Magistrate of the first class may order such person to make a monthly allowance for the maintenance of his wife or such child, father or mother, at such monthly rate as such magistrate thinks fit, and to pay the same to such person as the Magistrate may from time to time direct.

  If any person so ordered fails without sufficient cause to comply with the order, any such Magistrate may, for every breach of the order, issue a warrant for levying the amount due in the manner provided for levying fines, and may sentence such person to imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month or until payment if sooner made.

  On proof of a change in the circumstances of any person, receiving, under section 125 a monthly allowance for the maintenance or interim maintenance, or ordered under the same section to pay a monthly allowance for the maintenance, or interim maintenance, to his wife, child, father or mother, as the case may be, the Magistrate may make such alteration, as he thinks fit, in the allowance for the maintenance or the interim maintenance, as the case may be.

  Amount of maintenance

  The amount of the maintenance shall be purely the discretion of the Court. In determining the amount of the maintenance the court shall have due regard to the following considerations, namely,

  1. the position and status of the parties;

  2. the reasonable wants of the claimant;

  3. if the claimant is living separately, whether the claimant is justified in doing so;

  4. the value of the claimant's property and any income derived from such property, or from the claimant's own earnings or from any other source;

  5. Any other relevant fact and circumstance

  Points To Remember

  • Wife must positively aver in her petition that she is unable to maintain herself in addition to the facts that her husband has sufficient means to maintain her and that he has neglected to maintain her.

  Judgments

  • Badshah Vs. Sou. Urmila Badshah Godse & another, Criminal Miscellaneous Petition No.19530/2013 in Special Leave Petition (CRL.) No.8596/2013, Judgment Dated-18.10.2013, Bench- Ranjana Prakash Desai & A. K. SIKRI, JJ.

  • Code of Criminal Procedure - Section 125(3)- Judgment favouring Wife- Bar under Section-125(3) of Cr.P.C. held not to be applicable in this case- Shantha @ Ushadevi & Another Vs. B G Shivananjappa, Criminal Appeal No. 673 of 2005 , Judgment Dated-06.05.2005, Bench- Mr. P. Venkatarama Reddi & Mr. A.K. Mathur JJ.

  The captioned subject is complex by its very nature. We, therefore, always encourage our visitors & Clients to seek an independent legal advice by our empanelled lawyers. In such Cases, our lawyers devise most appropriate legal recourse for our Clients after examining the related provisions of law, i.e The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, The Limitation Act, 1963, The Evidence Act, 1872, Other relevant Acts & Judgments and Citations of the Hon’ble Supreme Court Of India and the High Courts. Even otherwise, the question as to how to apply the laws, judgments and citations is rather more complex, as it involves a thorough examination of substantial laws, procedural laws and Court precedents in a given set of facts and circumstances.

  Kindly call us at 91+98-712-712-05 or e-mail us at info@hellocounsel.com if you are facing any Legal Issue and want to have Legal Consultations with the empanelled Lawyers at Hello Counsel.