Gujarat High Court
Mohanbhai Jodhabhai Desai vs State Of Gujarat on 5 September, 2022
Bench: Samir J. Dave
R/CR.RA/456/2020 ORDER DATED: 05/09/2022
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL REVISION APPLICATION NO. 456 of 2020
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MOHANBHAI JODHABHAI DESAI
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT
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Appearance:
JAYDEEP H SINDHI(9585) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
AVANI V PATEL(8016) for the Respondent(s) No. 2,3,4
MR BS KHATANA(3671) for the Respondent(s) No. 2,3,4
MS MH BHATT, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SAMIR J. DAVE
Date : 05/09/2022
ORAL ORDER
1. Letter dated 26.08.2022 issued by the National Centre for
Polar and Ocean Research, Earth System Science Organization,
Ministry of Earth Sciences (Government of India), Headland
Sada, Vasco-da-Gama, Goa 403 804 India produced by the
respondent no.2 wife is taken on record.
2. This court had directed the applicant Mohanbhai
Jodhabhai Desai to remain present before this court today but,
as per the instructions given by the applicant to his learned
advocate Shri Jaydeep Sindhi, applicant is residing at Rajasthan
and not residing at abroad.
3. But, considering the aforesaid letter dated 26.08.2022
produced by the respondent no.2 wife, it transpires that prsent
R/CR.RA/456/2020 ORDER DATED: 05/09/2022
applicant is not residing in India but residing at abroad at his
job place. Thus, such kind of misstatement or misinformation
provided by the present applicant to his lawyer is not
acceptable by any manner.
4. From the various judgments of the Hon'ble Supreme
Court as well as learned High Court, it can be said that the
husband cannot escape from his liability to maintain his wife
or children because it is the legal and ethical duty of the
husband to maintain them. The law is clear that husband is
bound to maintain his wife and minor children and a husband
is negligent and does not pay maintenance to wife or children
as awarded by the Court, then how such a person is entitled to
the relief claimed by him in the matrimonial proceedings.
5. Chapter IX of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 provides
for maintenance of wife, children and parents in a summary
proceeding. Maintenance under Section 125 of the Code may
be claimed by a person irrespective of the religious community
to which they belong. The purpose and object of Section 125 of
the Code is to provide immediate relief to an applicant. An
application under Section 125 of the Code is predicated on two
conditions : (i) the husband has sufficient means; and (ii)
"neglects" to maintain his wife, who is unable to maintain
herself. In such a case, the husband may be directed by the
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Magistrate to pay such monthly sum to the wife, as deemed fit.
Maintenance is awarded on the basis of the financial capacity
of the husband and other relevant factors. Proceedings under
Section 125 of the Code are summary in nature.
6. In case of Bhuwan Mohan Singh v Meena & Ors.,
reported in (2015) 6 SCC 353, it is held that it is the
sacrosanct duty of the husband to provide financial support to
the wife and minor children, the husband was required to earn
money even by physical labour, if he is able-bodied, and could
not avoid his obligation, except on any legally permissible
ground mentioned in the statute.
7. It is the duty of the husband to maintain his wife and to
provide financial support to her and their children and he
cannot shirk his responsibility as husband as well as father to
maintain his legally wedded wife and children, which is his
social and lawful duty towards them and the wife and children
would be entitled to the same standard of living, which they
were enjoying while living with them.
8. But in this case it appears that the applicant has provided
misinformation to his learned advocate and not only that he
has not taken care to maintain or pay the maintenance to his
wife and children and thus, in the arena of the aforesaid
discussion and on the ground of providing misinformation by
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the applicant, present application stands rejected with cost of
Rs. 1,00,000/-. Applicant is directed to deposit the amount of
cost before the learned Family Court at Vadodara within a
period of four weeks from today. If the cost amount is not
deposited by the applicant within the time prescribed by this
court then Collector, Mehsana shall recover the said amount of
cost from the property of the present applicant.
9. The judgment and order dated 29 th February 2020 passed
by the learned Judge, Family Court No.4, Vadodara in Criminal
Misc. Application No. 709 of 2017 is hereby confirmed.
10. The Family Court, Vadodara is directed that any arrears
amount is due which is payable to wife and children, the court
may pass order to deduct the same from the salary of the
husband I.e, present applicant.
Rule stands discharged.
(SAMIR J. DAVE,J)
K. S. DARJI
