Case Background
This case arose from a long-running maintenance dispute between a husband and wife from Vaishali district.
In 2015, the wife filed a case under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr P C) before the Principal Judge, Family Court, Vaishali at Hajipur. In that application, she stated that her husband was earning a monthly salary of Rs 12,000.
On 01.09.2016, while the maintenance case was still pending, the Family Court passed an interim order. It directed the husband to pay the wife interim maintenance of Rs 5,000 per month.
Later, during the proceedings, a salary slip of the husband for the year 2021 was produced as Exhibit P-1. On the basis of this document, the Family Court found that the husband’s salary had increased to Rs 33,839 per month.
On 09.05.2023, the Principal Judge, Family Court, decided Maintenance Case No. 125 of 2015. The court allowed the wife’s application under Section 125 Cr P C and ordered the husband to pay Rs 15,000 per month as maintenance from the date of filing of the application in 2015.
The husband, aggrieved mainly by the direction to pay Rs 15,000 per month from the original date of filing, approached the Patna High Court in Criminal Revision No. 574 of 2023.
What the Court Examined and Decided
The criminal revision was heard by Hon’ble Mr Justice Arvind Singh Chandel of the Patna High Court. The judgment was delivered orally on 05.08.2024.
The husband’s side, represented by counsel, did not challenge the rate of Rs 15,000 per month as such. Instead, the focus of the challenge was on the date from which this maintenance was made payable.
The husband’s counsel pointed out that:
First, the wife herself had pleaded in her Section 125 application that the husband’s monthly salary in 2015 was Rs 12,000.
Second, during the pendency of that case, the Family Court had already granted interim maintenance of Rs 5,000 per month from 01.09.2016, which the husband had been paying.
Third, the final maintenance of Rs 15,000 per month had been fixed by the Family Court on the basis of the salary slip of 2021, which showed a much higher salary of Rs 33,839 per month.
On these facts, the husband argued that it was unfair to make the higher amount of Rs 15,000 payable from the date of the application in 2015, when his income was much lower.
His counsel submitted that the Family Court should have directed that Rs 15,000 per month be paid only from the date of the final order, i.e., 09.05.2023. The husband expressed readiness to pay the maintenance at that rate from that date onwards.
The wife’s counsel opposed the prayer. However, he admitted that in the original Section 125 application, the wife had indeed pleaded that the husband’s salary was Rs 12,000 per month at that time.
The High Court carefully considered the submissions from both sides and examined the record of the case and the Family Court’s order.
The High Court noted that:
The application under Section 125 Cr P C was filed in 2015. A copy of this application was before the High Court as Annexure P-1 to the revision petition.
In paragraph 5 of that application, the wife clearly stated that the husband was getting a monthly salary of Rs 12,000.
By a separate order dated 01.09.2016, the Principal Judge, Family Court, had already directed the husband to pay interim maintenance of Rs 5,000 per month to the wife.
While deciding the final application, the Family Court relied on Exhibit P-1, the salary slip of the year 2021, and found that the husband’s salary by then was Rs 33,839 per month.
Considering this higher salary, the Family Court fixed the monthly maintenance at Rs 15,000 per month. The High Court observed that this figure appeared to be “just and proper” in light of the husband’s income in 2021.
The Patna High Court did not disturb this rate of Rs 15,000 per month. The Court clearly stated that the amount of Rs 15,000 per month, based on the 2021 salary of Rs 33,839, was reasonable.
The crucial part of the High Court’s reasoning concerned the date from which this amount should be paid.
The Family Court had ordered that the maintenance of Rs 15,000 per month be paid from the date of submission of the application under Section 125 Cr P C in 2015.
The High Court found this direction to be incorrect. It pointed out that at the time of filing the application in 2015, as pleaded by the wife herself, the husband’s salary was only Rs 12,000 per month.
Despite this, the Family Court had fixed Rs 15,000 per month based on a salary figure from 2021. In the view of the High Court, it was not appropriate to apply this higher maintenance figure retrospectively from 2015, when the husband’s earning capacity was significantly lower.
The Court also took into account that the husband had been paying Rs 5,000 per month as interim maintenance from 01.09.2016 under the Family Court’s earlier order.
In these circumstances, the High Court held that the Family Court “ought to have directed the petitioner to pay monthly maintenance of Rs 15,000/- from the date of order instead from the date of filing the application.”
On this basis, the revision petition was partly allowed.
The Patna High Court issued the following directions:
First, the husband is directed to pay a monthly maintenance of Rs 15,000 to the wife from 09.05.2023, i.e., the date of the order passed by the Principal Judge, Family Court.
Second, the husband is further directed to pay the entire interim maintenance at the rate of Rs 5,000 per month from 01.09.2016 to 09.05.2023, if any amount remains unpaid, within two months.
Third, if any amount has already been paid by the husband, it will be deducted from the arrears of interim maintenance.
Through these directions, the High Court balanced two things: ensuring the wife receives reasonable support based on the husband’s current income, and protecting the husband from being burdened with arrears calculated at a rate fixed by reference to a later, higher salary.
Why This Judgment Matters
This judgment is important for families involved in long-running maintenance cases under Section 125 Cr P C.
It shows that the Patna High Court looks closely at the earning capacity of the person paying maintenance at different points of time. A higher maintenance set on the basis of a later, increased salary may not always be pushed back to the original date of the case.
For wives, the judgment confirms that courts can increase maintenance when the husband’s salary rises and that a reasonable figure like Rs 15,000 per month can be upheld where the income supports it.
For husbands, it clarifies that if the final maintenance is calculated on the basis of a salary from a much later year, the court may restrict the starting date to the date of the final order rather than the original filing date, especially when interim maintenance was already being paid.
Overall, the ruling encourages early and continuous payment of interim maintenance and shows that arrears will be enforced, but the amount and period must be fair in light of proven income.
Legal Issues and Answers
- Issue: From which date should the husband pay Rs 15,000 per month as maintenance to his wife under Section 125 Cr P C?
Answer: The Patna High Court held that Rs 15,000 per month is payable from 09.05.2023, the date of the Family Court’s final order, and not from the date of filing of the application in 2015. - Issue: What is the husband’s liability regarding interim maintenance already ordered by the Family Court?
Answer: The husband must pay interim maintenance of Rs 5,000 per month for the period 01.09.2016 to 09.05.2023, clearing any unpaid amount within two months, with adjustment for sums already paid.
Cases Cited by the Court
- No previous case law is cited or relied upon in the judgment text provided.
Case Details
Case Number: Criminal Revision No. 574 of 2023 (arising out of Maintenance Case No. 125 of 2015)
Case Title: Ajay Bihari Prasad Singh v. The State of Bihar & Punam Kumari
Coram: Hon’ble Mr Justice Arvind Singh Chandel
Citation: 2024(4) PLJR 589
Advocates: For the petitioner-husband: Ms Sudha, Advocate; For the respondents: Mr Dilip Kumar No. 1
Nature of the Case: Criminal revision against an order of the Principal Judge, Family Court, Vaishali at Hajipur in a Section 125 Cr P C maintenance proceeding
Link to the Judgment: Patna High Court Judgment in Cr. Rev. No. 574 of 2023
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