BHALSING SAHEBRAO JAGDALE Vs. LATABAI AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner/husband has approached to this Court since he is aggrieved by the Judgment and order passed by learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Pathardi dated 9.3.1999 in Criminal Misc. Application No. 63/1993, whereby the learned Magistrate was pleased to allow the application filed on behalf of the respondent No. 1/wife under section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and granted maintenance in her favour @ Rs. 150/- p.m. from the date of the application i.e. from 17.3.1993 together with the cost of Rs. 100, and judgment and order passed by the learned 4th Additional Sessions Judge, Ahmednagar in Criminal Revision Application No. 138/1999 by which the revision filed on behalf of the petitioner/husband was dismissed by the learned Revisional Court. I have heard Shri N.C. Garud, the learned counsel for the petitioner in extenso. Though, respondent No. 1 Latabai is served, nobody appeared on her behalf. I have heard the learned APP Shri Shinde for the Respondent No. 2 - State. The basic fabric of the argument of Shri Garud is that, the respondent No. 1/wife is not entitled for maintenance u/s 125 of Cr.P.C. since prior to his marriage with respondent No. 1, respondent No. 1 was married with one Ankush Avhad. In that view of the matter, according to the petitioner, she cannot be termed as legally wedded wife of the petitioner during the subsistence of her first marriage with Ankush Avhad. In order to buttress the said submission, the learned counsel relied upon the certified copy of the proceeding initiated by Ankush Avhad under section 97 of the Code of Criminal Procedure against respondent No. 1 and also the judgment and decree passed by learned Civil Judge Junior Division, Shevgaon dated 17.12.1993 in RCS No. 65/1993 by which a decree of perpetual injunction was granted in favour of the present petitioner.

(2.) In order to evaluate the submissions of the learned counsel, let us scrutinize the pleadings, evidence and proved documents on record.

(3.) Respondent No. 1 filed an application on 17.3.1993 in the Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class, Pathardi. The said application was under section 125 of Code of Criminal Procedure. Said proceeding was registered as Misc. Criminal Application No. 63/1993. In the said application, a specific statement and pleading was made to the effect that she married with the petitioner at Mauje Sonosi on 17.6.1991. She has also disclosed that though for first 4-5 months she received good treatment at the hands of the petitioner, however, subsequently, the petitioner has shown his true colour and started causing harassment and ultimately she was driven out from her matrimonial house requiring her to take the shelter of her parental house. She has also pointed out in her pleading that petitioner works as a Truck Driver and he is getting salary of Rs. 2,500/- to Rs. 3,000/- p.m. Besides he owns 5 Acres of irrigated land.