MEENA DEVI Vs. RAJINDER SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) It appears, Meena Devi laid a petition, against her husband for grant of Rs. 500/- per month, as maintenance, under Section 125 Cr.P.C., before the Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Theog, in April, 1995. Learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Theog, relying upon Smt. Hari Devi v. Bhagat Ram and another,1996 2 SLJ(HP) 1625, sent the case to Gram Panchayat; Sandhu, for decision in accordance with law. The Gram Panchayat by its order dated 8.11.1997 granted maintenance of Rs. 500/- per month to petitioner Meena Devi w.e.f. 25.4.1995, the date on which the application for grant of maintenance was laid. The maintenance was not paid by the respondent. Smt. Meena Devi again approached Gram Panchayat by an application dated 6.4.1998 (Annexure P-4) praying that respondent has failed to pay the maintenance amount. The arrears amount to Rs. 17,500/- and this amount may be recovered and paid to the petitioner in accordance with law. The Gram Panchayat sent the file to learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Theog, for execution of the order of the maintenance. The relevant portion of the order reads :-

(2.) Learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate by its impugned orders held that there was no provision either in the Criminal Procedure Code or in the Panchyati Raj Act to execute the orders, made by the Panchayat, under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and, therefore, the Court did not have necessary jurisdiction even under Section 71 of the Panchayati Raj Act, which provides for execution of the decree or order passed by the Gram Panchayat.

(3.) Section 71(1) of the Act indeed lays down that a decree or order passed by a Gram Panchayat shall be executed by the Gram Panchayat as may be prescribed, and if the property of the defendant is situate outside the jurisdiction of such Gram Panchayat, then it may transfer the decree or order for execution to the Gram Panchayat within whose jurisdiction the property may be situated and if there is no such Gram Panchayat then to Court of Sub Judge within whose jurisdiction it may be situated and Gram Panchayat or the Sub Judge, as the case may be, shall execute the decree or order as if it were a decree or order passed by it or him.