MANOJKUMAR HARILAL JOSHI Vs. TRUPTIBEN MANOJKUMAR JOSHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Criminal Revision Application seeks to challenge the order of the learned Sessions Judge in Criminal Revision Application no.159/2002, whereby the order to pay interim maintenance to the respondent no.1 and 2 was revised to Rs.5000.00 and Rs.1500.00 from Rs.500.00 and Rs.400.00 respectively.

(2.) Admittedly, the original application for maintenance under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code was filed with the contentions that the petitioner was a Professor employed at a salary of Rs.21,000.00, besides having the income from singing of songs and giving stage programmes. The original applicants, being wife aged 38 and minor son aged 12, have claimed total Rs.12,000.00 per month by way of maintenance and also prayed to decide the amount of interim maintenance, since the hearing and disposal of the main application might take longer time. The applicants had substantiated their contentions by executing an affidavit dated 12-9-2002 below the application and, after considering that, the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Rajkot, had, by order dated 10-12-2002, ordered the payment of total Rs.900.00 by way of interim maintenance.

(3.) Aggrieved by the aforesaid order of the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, the said dependents of the petitioner approached the learned Sessions Judge by way of a Revision Application under Section 397 of the Criminal Procedure Code (for short "the Code") and, having regard to the facts and circumstances, more particularly the net income of the petitioner, the requirements of the estranged wife and the educational needs of the minor child who was soon to face the examination of higher standard, the learned Sessions Judge has modified the amount of interim maintenance so as to order the petitioner to pay a sum of Rs.5000.00 per month to the wife and a sum of Rs.1500.00 to the son. It is that order which is under challenge in this Revision Application.