PREETI AND ORS. Vs. DEVENDRA AWASTHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this Criminal Revision under Section 397/401 of the Cr.P.C., petitioner wife Smt. Preeti and daughter Simran have challenged the order dated 28/10/2009 passed by the Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Ujjain in Maintenance Case No. 42/2008 partly allowing the case of the petitioner by awarding a sum of Rs. 2,000/ - to the minor child of both the parties, whereas rejecting the application on behalf of the petitioner wife.

(2.) BRIEFLY stated the facts of the case are that the petitioner/wife was driven from her matrimonial home after being married to respondent Devendra Awasthi on 18/1/2005. It is submitted that after the marriage the petitioner is living with the respondent in Nagpur and after sometime the respondent husband started harassing her by demanding dowry. It is alleged that a sum of Rs. 1,51,000/ -has been paid by the parents of the petitioner at the time of marriage and for a period of three months the husband treated her properly but thereafter he started assaulting her and also started demanding dowry for a sum of Rs. 1,50,000/ -. He abused her verbally and also physically assaulted her. Her sister -in -law Sangita, who resided in Amrawati, returned back and started residing in her parental home and she along with father -in -law and mother -in -law started troubling the petitioner. The LIC policy in the name of the petitioner was also forcibly transferred in Nagpur by the in -laws. The petitioner No. 2 Simran, the child girl, was born out of the wedlock in the year 2008. Thereafter one day taking advantage petitioner wife went to the STD booth and rang up her father and her brother had come to fetch her and she along with her daughter left her matrimonial home and started living with her parents in Ujjain. It is submitted that father of the petitioner was retired and there is no source of income for their livelihood. The small child was born out of the wedlock is also living with the petitioner and hence she claimed maintenance. However, respondent/husband has vehemently resisted the maintenance. It is alleged that when the wife left her matrimonial home along with her brother for Ujjain, her mother -in -law was admitted in hospital and was operated her knee, but the petitioner did not attend her mother -in -law and she had herself deserted the matrimonial home by calling her brother to fetch her. Whenever the husband went to fetch her she threatened him and she socially insulted him and the police report was also falsely filed by the wife giving false grounds and the allegations made are all untrue. Counsel urged that the trial Court had wrongly observed that the wife was not performing her duties as a Hindu wife and rejected the maintenance to the wife. However, considering the application for maintenance regarding the girl child, who was born out of the wedlock and she is living with the petitioner wife, the Trial Court had awarded a sum of Rs. 2,000/ - to the infant daughter. Being aggrieved the petitioner has filed the present petition.

(3.) ON considering the above submissions, since nobody had appeared to controvert the allegations despite notice and thus considering the submissions put forth on behalf of the petitioner wife, I find that the petition requires to be allowed on merit and it is, therefore, allowed and the impugned order is set aside. Marriage between the parties and birth of daughter Simran is not in dispute.