DRAKSHAYANI BALKRISHNA PATIL Vs. BALKRISHNA VIRUPAKSHA PATIL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) :- This writ petition arises in the maintenance proceedings adopted by the petitioner-wife under section 125, Criminal Procedure Code.

(2.) THE brief facts leading to the present petition are as follows : The petitioner is wife of the respondent No. 1. They had two daughters from their marriage. The marriage had taken place in June 1970 and she had left the matrimonial house in the year 1974 and the husband seems to have contracted second marriage in the year 1975. The petitioner-wife however, did not apply for maintenance until the year 1988. By filing Criminal Misc. Application No. 73 of 1988 in the court of JMFC, Jaysinghpur in Sangli District she claimed maintenance which was allowed by the judgment and order dated 13-9-1989 granting maintenance to the wife at the rate of rs. 500/- per month. The husband challenged the same by filing Criminal Revision Application No. 176 of 1989 in the sessions Court, Kolhapur. The same was heard and decided by the 3rd Addl. Sessions Judge, Kolhapur who was pleased to allow the said revision application partly and reduce the maintenance amount from Rs. 500 to Rs. 400 per month. The wife has challenged the said order reducing the amount of maintenance in this writ petition.

(3.) MS. Jadhav, learned Advocate appearing on behalf of the petitioner-wife has contended that when the husband is remarried and is having other sources of income apart from his salary, the order passed by the JMFC was absolutely legal and ought not to have been interfered in the revisional jurisdiction by the Sessions Court. She further submitted that there was no reason for the Sessions Court to reduce the amount of maintenance from Rs. 500 to Rs. 400 when the husband had already remarried illegally and having sufficient sources of income to pay the said amount.