SHANTHI Vs. P PANDIAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner/ wife who had obtained an order of grant of litigation expenses in a sum of Rs.2000/- and the monthly maintenance of Rs.750/- per month against the respondent husband in an application filed under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act pending the divorce petition under Section 13 of the Act filed the present Revision Petition as she is aggrieved against the order of quantum of monthly maintenance and also the order directing the respondent to pay the monthly maintenance from the date of filing of the application under Section 24 of the Act.

(2.) Though the main divorce application is pending from the year 1992, the petitioner filed the application for grant of maintenance on 6.8.1998. In that application, she prayed for the grant of interim maintenance at the rate of Rs.5000/- per month and also the litigation expenses in a sum of Rs.2000/- In the affidavit filed in support of the application, the petitioner averred that she was earning a sum of Rs.750/- per month as a teacher in a private school. The respondent is an Engineer in the State Government Service and he is earning more than Rs.10,000/- per month . In the aforesaid facts, she claimed that a sum of Rs.5000/- be directed to be paid by the respondent husband as monthly maintenance and a sum of Rs.2000/- for litigation expenses.

(3.) The respondent filed a counter, wherein he admitted the liability to pay the maintenance to the petitioner. However, he agreed to pay a sum of Rs.500/- as monthly maintenance and agreed to pay Rs.2000/- as litigation expenses. In view of the agreement as to the litigation expenses, there is no dispute and as such it was granted by the trial court. So far as the monthly maintenance is concerned, the trial Court after taking into consideration of the judgment referred to by the Counsel for the petitioner and also the material evidence adduced before it, had directed the respondent husband to pay the monthly maintenance at the rate of Rs.750/- from the date of filing of the application under Section 24. The correctness of the said order is now put in issue in the present revision petition.