SAJU SASIDHARAN Vs. DHANYA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The question involved in this Original Petition is whether an application is required to claim maintenance pendente lite and expenses of proceedings, under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act. The respondents filed O.P. No. 205/2012 on the file of the Family Court, Kottarakkara against the petitioner for return of gold ornaments and money as well as for maintenance, past and future. After counselling, the case was posted before the Family Court on 1-6-2012. On that day, the petitioner/husband (respondent before the Family Court) filed written statement and he also put forward a counter claim. On 1-6-2012 itself, the Family Court passed an order directing the petitioner to pay interim maintenance at the rate of Rs. 1,000 (Rupees One Thousand only) each to his wife and child. That order is under challenge in this O. P. (F. C.),No application was filed by the wife and the child of the petitioner claiming interim maintenance. From the order impugned, it is seen that an oral request was made for interim maintenance. No opportunity was afforded to the petitioner to put forward his contentions on the oral request made by the respondents. The only point to be considered in this Original Petition is whether the Family Court was right in granting interim maintenance without there being an application.

(2.) Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act (for short, 'the Act') provides for maintenance pendente lite and expenses of proceedings. Section 24 reads thus:

(3.) The expressions "on the application of the wife or husband" and "pay to the petitioner" mentioned in Section 24 of the Act make it clear that an order under Section 24 can be passed only on an application. Section 24 can be invoked either by the wife or the husband. To enable a party to get an order under Section 24, the Court must be satisfied that the petitioner has no independent income sufficient for his/her support. It is also incumbent on the Court to take into account the income of the petitioner and the income of the respondent while dealing with an application under Section 24 for pendente lite maintenance. The requisite ingredients to enable the Court to fix the quantum of maintenance have to be brought out in the application and/or in the objections. Without any application, the Court cannot justifiably dispose of a request for maintenance pendente lite and expenses of the proceeding, as provided in Section 24. A proviso was inserted to Section 24 of the Act, by the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act 2001, Act 49 of 2001. In that proviso also, the word "application" is mentioned.