RANJANA PANDEY Vs. PRAVEEN PANDEY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This revision has been preferred against the order dtd. 2/9/2021 passed by Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Bilaspur in MJC Case No. 472/2017 whereby application under Sec. 125 (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short "Cr.P.C.") filed by the applicant/wife for recovery of amount of interim maintenance has been dismissed for want of prosecution.

(2.) Facts of the case, in brief, is that on 7/11/2017 applicant/wife filed an application under Sec. 125 (3) of the Cr.P.C. against the respondent/husband for recovery of amount of interim maintenance to the tune of Rs.72,000.00 granted in her favour. The case was posted for various dates for appearance of respondent/husband. After appearance of respondent, the applicant filed an application praying that amount of interim maintenance should be given to her by attaching it from the salary of respondent/husband, as he is Government employee. Various dates were fixed for argument on the said application. Thereafter, on 26/8/2019, respondent filed an application under Sec. 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure (for short "CPC"). After 4-5 hearings of the case, on 16/3/2020, arguments of both the parties were heard on that application and the case was posted for order on 8/4/2020, but it seems that due to Covid-19 pandemic, cases could not be taken-up for hearing and hearing of the cases got disturbed, despite that on 17/3/2021 applicant had made her appearance, thereafter hearing again got disturbed and on 12/7/2021, the cases were taken-up for hearing in absence of parties and posted the case for arguments on 2/9/2021 and, on the very same day, the application under Sec. 125 (3) of the Cr.P.C. filed by the applicant/wife was dismissed for want of prosecution holding therein that applicant was not appeared on that day and also on the last date of hearing, thus, she is not interested to pursue the matter. Hence, this revision petition.

(3.) Learned counsel for the applicant would submit that the application under Sec. 125(3) of the Cr.P.C. filed by the applicant/wife is pending since 2017 for recovery of amount of interim maintenance granted in her favour, but instead of making payment to her, learned court below has dismissed the said application for her non - appearance on 2/9/2021. It is submitted that due to Covid-19 pandemic, the cases were not taken-up for hearing and the parties were not known about the date of hearing. When the hearing of the case was started, the case was fixed for arguments on 2/9/2021, that too, in absence of the parties, and on the very same day i.e. on 2/9/2021, her case was dismissed for want of prosecution by the learned Family Court. It is further submitted that in most of the dates of hearing, the applicant personally appeared before the Family Court and even when she was in custody in some other case, then also she make her appearance in custody before the Family Court, which shows that she is very much conscious and serious about her case, as she is necessitous to get the amount of interim maintenance because she is not having any source of income to earn her livelihood but learned Family Court without considering the aforesaid facts, arbitrarily dismissed the application filed by applicant/wife for want of prosecution, which is erroneous and unsustainable in law.