VIJAY KUMAR Vs. SAGARIKA PRASAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, who is the plaintiff in Matrimonial Suit No.314 of 2016, is aggrieved of order dated 20.06.2017 by which he has been directed to pay Rs.4000/- per month to his wife and Rs.1500/- per month to his minor child as maintenance pendente-lite besides Rs.10000/- as litigation cost.

(2.) Mr. Ashok Kumar Yadav, the learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is unemployed and he has no independent source of income.

(3.) Matrimonial Suit No.314 of 2016 has been instituted for a decree for divorce under section 13 (1)(iii) of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Before that, Matrimonial Suit No.52 of 2011 was instituted by the petitioner seeking dissolution of the marriage by a decree of divorce. The suit was decreed partly vide judgment dated 04.04.2013, however, only to the extent that the decree of judicial separation was granted. This was an ex-parte judgment. The respondent-wife filed an application under Order IX Rule 13 CPC for setting-aside the ex-parte judgment and decree passed in the suit. She, in the mean-time, filed an application under section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. These applications were registered as Misc. Case No. 35 of 2013 and Misc. Case No.36 of 2013. The learned trial judge declined to set-aside the ex-parte judgment and decree in Matrimonial Suit No.52 of 2011, however, no order was passed in Misc. Case No.36 of 2013. Judgment dated 04.04.2013 passed in Matrimonial Suit No.52 of 2011 and order dated 27.09.2014 passed in Misc. Case No.35 of 2013 and Misc. Case No.36 of 2013 were challenged by the respondent-wife in First Appeal No.566 of 2014. By order dated 07.05.2015, it was held that the First Appeal at this stage need not be entertained, however, it was ordered that the application under section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 shall be decided on its own merits.