MADHUKAR AKHAND Vs. BHIMA AKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A question of law of some importance and of common occurrence of late has been raised in this petition. The petitioner is the husband who aggrieved by an order of interim maintenance passed by the Third Joint Civil Judge, (Junior Division), Nagpur in Regular Civil Suit No. 466 of 1981 has approached this Court. the order by which he is aggrieved passed below Exhibit-7 directs him to pay interim maintenance in a sum of Rs. 200/- performance month for the plaintiffs from the date of filing of the suit till the date of the disposal of the suit.

(2.) The suit was brought by plaintiff Bhima, the wife of defendant Madhukar for herself and on behalf of her two minor children, plaintiffs 2 and 3 Satish and Dilip, aged 5 and 4 years respectively. She claimed maintenance from the husband on the ground that the husband had deserted her and her children and was not looking after them and maintaining them' that he had a kept mistress by name Kalavati with whom he is reisding in the family house; that he has also a child from the said mistress.

(3.) The petitioner husband resisted the suit. His contention was that he had not married Kalavati and had not kept her as his mistress or that she had a child from him. His contention was that he was willing to maintain all the three plaintiffs. His wife, plaintiff 1, was deliberately staying away from him with a view to harass him. He, therefore, contented that no interim relief should be given to her. It does not appear, though in reply to the application Exhibit-7, a contention or a ground was taken challenging the jurisdiction of the Court to grant any interim relief in such a case, for want of any provision, nevertheless the matters seems to have been raised squarely before the learned Judge during the course of the arguments.