PRITAM KAUR Vs. RAJINDER SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition is by the wife whose prayer under section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act for grant of maintenance pendente lite and litigation expenses has been declined by the trial Court on the solitary ground that even in the proceedings initiated by her under section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure against the respondent husband, she had remained unsuccessful. In those proceedings the trial Magistrate had found that she was living away from the husband without any justifiable reason. It is on account of this conduct of the petitioner that the trial Court has disentitled her to the relief prayed for.

(2.) After hearing the learned counsel for the parties, I find that the lower Court has completely gone astray in taking notice of the conduct of the petitioner for disentitting her to the reliefs under section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act. To my mind, this section gives an absolute right to a spouse to ask for the reliefs mentioned therein against a spouse who had initiated the proceedings under the Act. Even Mr. Ujagar Singh, learned counsel for the respondent concedes in the light of the judgement of this Court in Smt. Jiwan Lata v. Krishan Kumar, 1979 81 PunLR 511, that the conduct of a spouse asking for reliefs under section 24 of the Act is totally irrelevant for the grant of relief, the same time it may, however, he taken into account while fixing the quantum of maintenance. In view of this the impugned order is apparently unsustainable and is thus set side. Since the trial Court has not recorded any finding with regard to the means of the parties and has thus not determined quantum of maintenance or the litigation expenses to be granted to the petitioner, the case has essentially to he sent back to it for disposal in accordance with law. I order accordingly. The parties through their counsel are directed to put in appearance before the trial Court on December 21, 1982.