BALDEV SINGH Vs. POOJA DEVI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this petition filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has challenged the correctness, legality and validity of the judgment/order dated 22nd August, 2005 passed by the learned Additional District Judge (1), Kangra at Dharamshala in Civil Miscellaneous Application No. 35-K/2003 filed by the respondent Pooja Devi against the petitioner whereby, the learned Court below has ordered the petitioner to pay to the respondent Rs. 70,000/- towards the marriage expenses of the respondent. The brief facts leading to the filing of this petition may be noticed as under.

(2.) RESPONDENT Pooja Devi admittedly is the daughter of the petitioner. She was born on 31st August, 1983 from out of the wedlock of the petitioner and his then wife Smt. Sita Rani. Due to estranged relations the matrimonial alliance between the petitioner and Smt. Sita Rani broke by the force of a decree of dissolution of marriage passed on 4th December, 1999. The appeal against this decree filed by Smt. Sita Rani is stated to be pending in this Court. In the meanwhile respondent Pooja Devi, claiming that her marriage had been fixed on 26th May, 2003 with one Mohinder Singh Katoch son of Shri Krishan Chand, filed an application under section 20 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 (1956 Act 'for short') complaining in this application that the petitioner did not make any arrangement for the marriage of the respondent and that as per social custom prevalent in the area and also as per the status of the petitioner at least an amount of Rs. one lac is required to be spent for the marriage and since neither the respondent nor her mother Smt. Sita Rani possessed this amount, the respondent represented to the learned Court below in the aforesaid application filed under section 20 (supra) that an appropriate order be passed directing him to pay the aforesaid amount to the respondent. It is under these circumstances, as noticed at the outset, that the learned Court below passed the impugned order directing the petitioner to pay Rs. 70,000/- as marriage expenses to the respondent. It is worthwhile to note here that the marriage of the respondent actually had stood solemnized on 26th May, 2003, that is, during the pendency of section 20 application and well before the passing of the impugned order.

(3.) THE Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 was enacted by the Parliament in the year 1956 to provide for the twin objects of adoption as well as maintenance. Chapter II of the 1956 Act deals with subject of adoption with which we are not concerned in this case. Chapter III deals with the subject of maintenance. The scheme of this Chapter, starting from section 18 onwards relates to the right of maintenance of a wife of a Hindu husband, maintenance of a widowed daughter-in-law, and maintenance of children as well as aged/infirm parents, amongst others. Section 20 relates to the obligation of a Hindu to maintain during his life time his legitimate or illegitimate children, apart from his aged or infirm parents. For ready reference, section 20 reads thus :