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Doomed_Man (Respondent)     27 November 2014

125 crpc " UNABLE to MAINTAIN HERSELF" ?

Hello Gurus

What is the meaning of  expression 'unable to maintain herself' in 125 crpc ? My wife is a well educated woman and has a couple of degrees and was working before marriage and drawing a salary of 20,000 in 2007. After marriage in 2007 she quit her job and now in 2014 is she " UNABLE to MAINTAIN HERSELF" ? With good qualifications and job exp and communication skills she can anytime get a job. So technically she is NOT unable to maintain herself. PLease throw some light on this. Thanks

Same has been said in MP High court judgement for Mamta Jaiswal  by Judge Chitre.



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 3 Replies

Rama chary Rachakonda (Secunderabad/Highcourt practice watsapp no.9989324294 )     27 November 2014

Where the personal income of the wife is insufficient she can claim maintenance under Section 125 CrPC. The test is whether the wife is in a position to maintain herself in the way she was used to in the place of her husband. In Bhagwan Dutt v. Kamla Devi it was observed that the wife should be in a position to maintain a standard of living which is neither luxurious nor penurious but what is consistent with status of a family. The expression “unable to maintain herself” does not mean that the wife must be absolutely destitute before she can apply for maintenance under Section 125 CrPC.”

Doomed_Man (Respondent)     27 November 2014

hi please see below judgement

https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1728023/

In view of this, the question arises, as to in what way Section 24 of the Act has to be interpreted: Whether a spouse who has capacity of earning but chooses to remain idle, should be permitted to saddle other spouse with his or her expenditure ? Whether such spouse should be permitted to get pendente lite alimony at higher rate from other spouse in such condition ? According to me, Section 24 has been enacted for the purpose of providing a monetary assistance to such spouse who is incapable of supporting himself Or herself inspite of sincere efforts made by him or herself. A spouse who is well qualified to get the service immediately with less efforts is not expected to remain idle to squeeze out, to milk out the other spouse by relieving him of his or her own purse by a cut in the nature of pendente lite alimony. The law does not expect the increasing number of such idle persons who by remaining in the arena of legal battles, try to squeeze out the adversory by implementing the provisions of law suitable to their purpose. In the present case Mamta Jaiswal is a well qualified woman possessing qualification like M.Sc. M.C. M.Ed. Till 1994 she was serving in Gulamnabi Azad Education College. It impliedly means that she was possessing sufficient experience. How such a lady can remain without service ? It really puts a bug question which is to be answered by Mamta Jaiswal with sufficient congent and believable evidence by proving that in spite of sufficient efforts made by her, she was not able to get service and, therefore, she is unable to support herself. A lady who is fighting matrimonial petition filed for divorce, cannot be permitted to sit idle and to put her burden on the husband for demanding pendente lite alimony from him during pendency of such matrimonial petition. Section 24 is not meant for creating an army of such idle persons who would be sitting idle waiting for a 'dole' to be awarded by her husband who has got a grievance against her and who has gone to the Court for seeking a relief against her. The case may be vice verssa also. If a husband well qualified, sufficient enough to earn, site idle and puts his burden on the wife and waits for a 'dole' to be awarded by remaining entangled in litigation. That is also not permissible. The law does not help indolents as well idles so also does not want an army of self made lazy idles. Everyone has to earn for the purpose of maintenance of himself or herself, atleast, has to make sincere efforts in that direction. If this criteria is not applied, if this attitude is not adopted, there would be a tendency growing amongst such litigants to prolong such litigation and to milk out the adversory who happens to be a spouse, once dear but far away after an emerging of litigation. If such army is permitted to remain in existence, there would be no sincere efforts of amicable settlements because the lazy spouse would be very happy to fight and frustrate the efforts of amicable settlement because he would be reaping the money in the nature of pendente lite alimony, and would prefer to be happy in remaining idle and not bothering himself or herself for any activity to support and maintain himself or herself That cannot be treated to be aim, goal of Section 24. It is indirectly against healthyness of the society. It has enacted for needy persons who in spite of sincere efforts and sufficient effort are unable to support and maintain themselves and are required to fight out the litigation jeopardising their hard earned income by toiling working hours.

 

 In fact, well qualified spouses desirous of remaining idle, not making efforts for the purpose of finding out a source of livelihood, have to be discouraged, if the society wants to progress. The spouses who are quarelling and coming to the Court in respect of matrimonial disputes, have to be guided for the purpose of amicable settlement as early as possible and, therefore, grant of luxurious, excessive facilities by way of pendente lite alimony and extra expenditure has to be discouraged. Even then, if the spouses do not think of amicable settlement, the Matrimonial Courts should dispose of the matrimonial petitiorisas early as possible. The Matrimonial Courts have to keep it in mind that the quarells between the spouses create dangerous impact on minds of their offsprings of such wedlocks. The offsprings do not understand as to where they should see ? towards father or towards mother ? By seeing them both fighting, making allegations against each other, they get bewildered. Such bewilderedness and loss of affection of parents is likely to create a trauma on their minds and brains. This frustration amongst children of tender ages is likely to create complications which would ruin their future. They cannot be exposed to such danger on account of such fighting parents.


(Guest)
Originally posted by : Doomed_Man

Hello Gurus

What is the meaning of  expression 'unable to maintain herself' in 125 crpc ? My wife is a well educated woman and has a couple of degrees and was working before marriage and drawing a salary of 20,000 in 2007. After marriage in 2007 she quit her job and now in 2014 is she " UNABLE to MAINTAIN HERSELF" ? With good qualifications and job exp and communication skills she can anytime get a job. So technically she is NOT unable to maintain herself. PLease throw some light on this. Thanks

Same has been said in MP High court judgement for Mamta Jaiswal  by Judge Chitre.


All this is okay. You finding judgements etc.  But what is your lawyer doing?  Its his duty to find latest judgement and file it there are judgements after mamta jaiswal case too.  

My opinion about this is, as any other application, court will accept any application from anybody.  There is no rule that wife inspite of being well educated, previously found to be working should not file an application asking maintenance.  Here during pendancy of the divorce petition, the wife can ask interim maintenance too which is payable but not permanent maintenance u/s 125 crpc.

It is your duty to make known to your lawyer/subsequently the court via evidences that she was working before, apply through RTI, go bribe some clerk etc in her institution, summon her previous employer and get them certify that she was with them and she was earning so and so and was employed from so and so date.  Ask appointment of court commissioner whose report about immovable assets of wife cannot be overlooked even by honorable SC.  File old salary slips.  Give the court her bank account number and ask court to get details of it.  All this need to be done.  And your lawyer should be in a position to make your wife confess the truth during her cross examination.  After all this is done, court will consider the citations you have used of honorable HC and SC.

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