DNYANDEO BABURAO DHAKANE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner-husband has challenged the concurrent findings given by both the Courts below in granting maintenance to the respondent-wife, solely on the ground that the criminal case filed against the petitioner-husband under section 498-A was resulted into an acquittal. The acquittal order means the allegations made by the respondent-wife about harassment and ill-treatment goes. In such circumstances, there was no reason that both the Courts should reopen and reconsider the same issue and grant maintenance by overlooking the fact of failure on the part of the respondent-wife to prove the allegations of harassment.

(2.) The learned counsel for the petitioner has strongly relied on a decision in shankar Anant Bandal vs. Smt. Suman Shankar Bandal and anr. , 1983 (1) Bom. C. R. 601, wherein, this Court has observed that, "both the Courts erred in placing reliance on the happenings said to have taken place on 10-4-1978, more particularly in view of the clean acquittal which the opponent-petitioner had secured. Since this was the basis on which the maintenance was granted, the order and proceedings needs to be quashed" and thereby allowed the said application of the husband and rejected the application filed by the wife under section 125 of Criminal Procedure Code.

(3.) The learned counsel for the petitioner has further relied on para 4 of the apex Court's decision in Masud Khan vs. State of Uttar Pradesh, (1974) 3 SCC 469 in reference to the principal of estoppel, which is reproduced as under :-