BASANT KUMAR BEHERA Vs. CHANDINI BEHERA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE method of determination of interim maintenance to a spouse under section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955(for short, 'the Act') is the question involved in the present writ petition.

(2.) THE petitioner as husband has filed an application under section 13 of the Act for dissolution of marriage and grant of a decree of divorce against the opp. party wife, which is pending adjudication before the learned Civil Judge (Senior Division), Dhenkanal. The said case has been registered as MAT Case No. 420 of 2009. The opp. party wife filed an application under section 24 of the Act for grant of interim maintenance and litigation expenses during the pendency of the said MAT Case on the ground that the petitioner husband is not maintaining her or paying any amount to her towards maintenance. The said application was registered as I.A. No. 133 of 2009. The learned Civil Judge by his order dated 20.8.2010 directed to pay a monthly maintenance of Rs. 3000/ - per month with effect from 19.11.2009, i.e., the date of application and Rs. 5000/ - towards litigation expenses during pendency of the MAT Case. The petitioner husband being aggrieved by the said order approached this Court in W.P. (C) No. 16751 of 2010. The said writ petition was disposed of by order dated 21.7.2011 observing and directing as follows: -

(3.) AFTER the matter was remitted back to the learned Civil Judge to reconsider the matter with regard to interim maintenance , the learned Civil Judge heard both the parties again and appreciating the materials produced and the witnesses examined before him, by his order dated 15.10.2011 directed the petitioner husband to pay a monthly maintenance of Rs. 10,000/ - per month from the date of application, i.e., 19.11.2009 along with the litigation expenses of Learned counsel for the petitioner raised the following two questions before me while challenging the impugned order: