Shri Bikash Sarkar vs Smt. Gita Roy
2026 Latest Caselaw 56 Tri

Tripura High Court

Shri Bikash Sarkar vs Smt. Gita Roy on 16 January, 2026

              HIGH COURT OF TRIPURA
                     AGARTALA
               Crl.Rev.P.No.71 of 2025

   Shri Bikash Sarkar,
   S/o Lt. Hamenta Sarkar,
   A resident of Vill-West Khola,
   P.O.- Paikhola, P.S.- Belonia,
   Pin- 799125, Dist- South Tripura
   At present residing at C/o. Dipesh Das
   Pratapgarh, Agartala, P.S.- Agartala Police Station,
   P.O.- Agartala Post Office,
   District- West Tripura, Pin-799001.

                                          ......Petitioner(s)
                           Versus
1. Smt. Gita Roy,
   D/o. Shri Bidhan Chandra Roy
   A resident of Vill- Purba Ramchandra Ghat,
   P.O.- Ramchandra Ghat, Near Ramchandra Ghat Town
   Hall,
   P.S.- Khowai, Pin- 799207,
   Dist.- Khowai Tripura.

2. The State of Tripura.

                                        ......Respondent(s)

For Petitioner(s) : Ms. Ankita Pal, Adv.

For Respondent(s) : Mr. Dipjyoti Paul, Adv.

Date of Hearing &
Judgment and Order :       16.01.2026
Whether fit for
Reporting             :    NO

           HON‟BLE MR. JUSTICE BISWAJIT PALIT

                    Judgment & Order(Oral)

Heard Learned Counsel, Ms. A. Pal appearing on

behalf of the petitioner-husband and also heard Learned

Counsel, Mr. D. Paul appearing on behalf of the respondent-

wife.

02. This petition under Section 19(4) of the Family

Courts Act 1984 and Section 438 read with Section 442 of

BNSS is filed challenging the order dated 28.08.2025 passed

by Learned Judge, Family Court, Khowai, Tripura in

connection with case No.Crl.Misc(Int) 14 of 2025. By the said

order, Learned Judge, Family Court has awarded interim

maintenance at the rate of Rs.16,000/- per month in favour

the respondent-wife and her daughter w.e.f. 01.06.2025.

03. At the time of hearing, Learned Counsel for the

petitioner-husband drawn the attention of the Court that the

petitioner-husband is a fixed pay employee and he does not

have any regular employment rather he is serving as a

temporary employee under Tripura Health Protection Society

but the Learned Court below did not consider the said fact. It

was also submitted that in the order it was specifically

mentioned that the amount of Rs.16,000/- was awarded for

the maintenance of the respondent-wife and her daughter.

But infact no daughter took birth during the wedlock of the

parties of this proceeding. As such the order suffers from

infirmity and is liable to be interfered with.

Learned Counsel further submitted that there is

/was no willful negligence or refusal on the part of the

petitioner-husband rather the respondent-wife voluntarily left

the company of the petitioner-husband and as such the order

cannot be sustained in the eye of law and urged for setting

aside the order.

04. On the other hand, Learned Counsel, Mr. D. Paul

appearing on behalf of the respondent-wife first of all drawn

the attention of this Court that this present petition is not

maintainable because against an interim order no revision

lies and as such the present petition is not maintainable.

Learned Counsel further submitted that based upon the

statement of assets and liabilities filed by the parties the

order was passed, so, there was no infirmity in the order

passed by Learned Judge, Family Court. So, Learned Counsel

urged for dismissal of this petition.

05. I have heard both the sides at length and perused

the relevant documents annexed with the writ petition. This

present petition is filed by the petitioner-husband under

Section 19(4) of the Family Courts Act read with Section 438

and Section 442 of BNSS.

06. In this regard, Hon'ble the Supreme Court of India

in a judgment in Akanksha Arora vs. Tanay Maben

reported in (2024) SCC OnLine SC 3688, in para Nos.5, 6,

7, 8, 9, 10 & 11 observed as under:

"5. It appears that the Principal Judge, Family Court vide order dated 08.03.2022 in exercise of powers under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (for short „the CrPC‟) had fixed interim maintenance in favour of the appellant.

6. Being dissatisfied with the quantum of interim maintenance, the appellant-wife had filed a petition under Section 482 CrPC in the High Court seeking enhancement. The said petition has been dismissed by the High Court by the order impugned on the ground that it is not maintainable as the appellant-wife has a remedy of a revision under Section 397 CrPC.

7. This Court has, in a catena of decisions, provided that nomenclature of a petition is immaterial and for doing substantive justice, the High Court can always convert a petition under Section 482 CrPC to a revision under Section 397 CrPC and vice versa. The approach of the High Court in dismissing the petition filed by the appellant under Section 482 CrPC on the hyper technical ground that she had to avail the remedy of revision cannot be appreciated because the same has unnecessarily compelled the appellant to approach this Court by way of this appeal filed under Article 136 of the Constitution of India.

8. In Madhu Limaye v. The State of Maharashtra [(1977) 4 SCC 551], this Court held that the label of a petition filed by an aggrieved party is immaterial. The High Court can always examine the controversy in an appropriate case in exercise of its inherent powers.

9. In Prabhu Chawla v. State of Rajasthan [(1977) 4 SCC 551], this Court examined the relevant scope of Section 482 CrPC and Section 397 CrPC and held that nothing in CrPC, not even Section 397, can affect the amplitude of the inherent powers preserved in so many terms by the language of Section 482 CrPC. The inherent powers should not invade areas set apart for specific powers conferred under CrPC but there is no total ban on the exercise of inherent powers where abuse of process of Court or other extraordinary situation warrants exercise of inherent jurisdiction. The limitation is self- restraint, nothing more. Availability of alternative remedy of criminal revision under Section 397 CrPC, by itself, cannot be a good ground to dismiss an application under Section 482 CrPC.

10. Viewed in light of the above precedents, we feel that even if the High Court was of the view that the appellant should have invoked the jurisdiction under Section 397 CrPC for seeking enhancement of interim maintenance, it ought not to have non-suited the appellant only on the ground of alternative remedy. The judicious approach would have been to convert the petition under Section 482 CrPC into a revision under Section 397 CrPC and to have decided the same as per law.

11. In view of the above, we dispose of the appeal by setting aside the impugned order of the High Court dated 21.09.2023 and remand the matter to the High Court with further direction to convert the petition under Section 482 CrPC as a criminal revision under Section 397 CrPC and decide it in accordance with law after affording opportunity of hearing to the parties."

From the aforesaid observation of the Hon'ble

Supreme Court, it appears that there is no bar in

entertaining the petition in exercising revisional jurisdiction

by the High Court to entertain the petition filed by the

petitioner. So, the submission of Learned Counsel for

respondent-wife, that this present petition is not

maintainable, is not correct and cannot be legally accepted.

Thus, it appears to this Court that the present petitioner-

husband has rightly availed the remedy of revisional

jurisdiction challenging the order dated 28.08.2025 passed

by Learned Judge, Family Court, Khowai, Tripura before this

Court. Now regarding quantum of interim maintenance as

awarded by the Learned Family Court which is under

challenge, it appears to this Court that in the petition filed by

the respondent-wife, nowhere it was mentioned by her that

she has got one daughter out of her marital relation with the

petitioner-husband. Thus, the observation of the Learned

Judge, Family Court to the extent of awarding maintenance

at the rate of 16,000/- per month for the respondent-wife

and her daughter is factually not correct. It may so happen

that due to over sight or typing mistake the Learned Judge,

Family Court has mentioned the existence of daughter.

However, regarding quantum of maintenance awarded by

Learned Court below, it appears that based upon the

statement of assets and liabilities, Learned Court awarded

Rs.16,000/- as interim maintenance till disposal of the main

petition. In this regard, Learned Counsel for the petitioner-

husband could not dispute anything. However, before this

Court at the time of hearing, Learned Counsel produced one

Service Certificate from which it appears that the petitioner-

husband is a contractual employee under the Tripura Health

Protection Society, meaning thereby he has not got any

regular employment. So, considering the facts and

circumstances of the case, it appears to this Court that the

awarding of Rs.16,000/- as an interim maintenance by

Learned Trial Court appears to be harsh, rather it would be

prudent that the petitioner-husband shall pay interim

maintenance w.e.f. 01.06.2025 at the rate of Rs.10,000/-

per month in place of Rs.16,000/- to the respondent-wife till

disposal of the main petition, then the purpose of proceeding

would suffice.

07. In the result, the petition filed by the petitioner-

husband is hereby partly allowed with modification that the

petitioner-husband shall pay interim maintenance to the

respondent-wife w.e.f. 01.06.2025 at the rate of 10,000/-

per month in place of Rs.16,000/- per month till disposal of

the main petition. The arrears of maintenance, if any, shall

be paid by four equal installments by the petitioner-husband

to the respondent-wife. The mode of payment of

maintenance would be made by the petitioner-husband to

the respondent-wife as ordered by Learned Trial Court

below.

With this observation, this present petition stands

disposed of.

Supply a copy of this order to Learned Counsels of

both the parties free of cost.

Pending application(s), if any, also stands

disposed of.

JUDGE

PURNITA DEB Date: 2026.01.16 17:21:34

Purnita