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Judgment
Hon''ble Servesh Kumar Gupta, J.—This criminal revision has been directed against the judgment and order dated 17.09.2007 rendered by Judge, Family Court, Udham Singh Nagar in Criminal Misc. Case No. 221 of 2006 titled as Smt. Parul Mallik v. Sri Anand Mallik. The said Criminal Misc. Case was instituted on 07.11.2006 by Smt. Parul Mallik along with her two children seeking maintenance from her husband (Respondent No. 2) u/s 125 Code of Criminal Procedure.
Learned Judge, after recording the evidence of the parties, dismissed the claim of maintenance of Smt. Parul Mallik for herself while at the same time awarded maintenance of Rs. 500/- per month to each child. This way, Rs. 1000/- as maintenance, had to be paid by Sri Anand Mallik (husband) to Smt. Parul Mallik (wife) for taking care of children.
This revision has been filed with the prayer that at least Rs. 3000/- per month as maintenance should be awarded to Smt. Parul Mallik (wife) and the amount of maintenance of Rs. 500/- per month to each child, as awarded by the court below, should be enhanced to Rs. 2000/- per month to each child.
Having heard the Learned Counsel for the parties, it is relevant to note that learned court below has refused to grant the maintenance to Smt. Parul Mallik on the ground that she refused to live with her husband without any sufficient reason. Both the parties are present, in person, before this Court. Smt. Parul Mallik has expressed her willingness to accompany with her husband even from the Court itself but the husband has refused to accompany his wife unequivocally before this Court. It has been contended by the Learned Counsel for the revisionist that Sri Anand Mallik (Respondent No. 2) has six acres of land, out of which, he has sold four acres of land, for the consideration of Rs. 72,00,000/- (Rupees Seventy Two Lakh) while Learned Counsel for the Respondent No. 2 has argued that this document has been filed first time in the High Court and cannot be relied. However, it has been admitted by the learned Counsel for the Respondent No. 2 that there is some agricultural land in his name.
Be that as it may, the settled position of law is that irrespective of any means of earning, a healthy and able-bodied man cannot deny maintenance to his wife and children. Sri Anand Mallik is physically present before this Court and he is a healthy and able-bodied young man, so in the opinion of this Court, he cannot deprive his wife and children, a proper maintenance, as per standard of living of the parties.
Wife Smt. Parul Mallik agrees to go with her husband from the Court itself but latter has flatly refused to carry his wife with him. Learned Counsel for the revisionist has further submitted that ever since the order of maintenance dated 17.09.2007 was passed to pay maintenance to the tune of Rs. 1000/- per month, nothing has been paid by her husband but the latter showed some receipts of payment of school fees of his children. It is relevant to mention that payment of fees of children is not the intention of the judgment and order passed by the lower court because besides the payment of school fees, a lot of expenditure is incurred by the lady for bringing up the children.
In the opinion of the Court, the amount awarded by the court below is quite insufficient. The revision deserved to be allowed. Accordingly, the Revision is allowed. The amount of maintenance to the tune of Rs. 2000/- per month is awarded to Smt. Parul Mallik ever since the filing of the application on dated 07.11.2006 while the amount of maintenance to each child is enhanced from Rs. 500/- per month to Rs. 1000/- per month each. This way, the Respondent Sri Anand Mallik is liable to pay total amount of maintenance to the tune of Rs. 4000/- per month ever since the filing of the application on dated 07.11.2006. The amount paid by Sri Anand Mallik, if any, till date will be deducted and adjusted in the total amount.