SMT. SUSHIL MALHOTRA Vs. CAPT. SATYA PAL MALHOTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In the petition filed by the husband for dissolution of marriage, the wife filed an application under section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act for grant of maintenance and litigation expenses. She claimed maintenance at the rate of Rs. 600.00 per month and litigation expenses amounting to Rs. 3,000.00. The court below by the impugned order has granted maintenance at the rate of Rs. 350.00 P.M. So far as litigation expenses are concerned the court awarded only Rs. 200.00. Feeling aggrieved the appellant-wife filed an appeal in this Court. The Division Bench admitted the appeal limited to the litigation expenses. The result is that so far as maintenance is concerned the order of the court below has become final.

(2.) By an Act which came into force from 27th May, 1976 Sec. 28 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 has been amended. Formerly all decrees and orders made by the court in any proceedings under the Act were appealable. By the amendment the expression "and orders" has been omitted from section 28 sub-section (1). The result is that an appeal from an order under Sec. 24 of the Act is no longer competent. The impugned order of the Court has been passed after the amendment came into force.

(3.) Sub-section 2 of Sec. 28 of the Act also enforces this conclusion. It provides that the orders made by the Court under Sections 25 and 26 of the Act are appealable if they are not interim orders. This shows that an order under Sec. 25 or 26 is not appealable if it is an interim order but the orders would be appealable only if they are final. Under the law there is no provision for appeal against interim orders and as such this appeal is not competent and must be rejected.