The Allahabad High Court has ruled that if a specific adultery allegations against wife, the court must first examine this matter under Section 125 of the CrPC before granting interim maintenance. In this instance, the husband challenged a family court’s decision to award interim maintenance to his wife, arguing that she was involved in adultery. The Court has stayed the order and instructed the wife to file a counter affidavit.
A Single Bench of Justice Manjive Shukla observed, “From a bare perusal of Section 125(4) Cr.P.C., it is patently manifest that once there is categorical allegation of adultery against the wife, then the court concerned dealing with the matter under Section 125 Cr.P.C. has to decide the issue of adultery and even interim maintenance can be awarded only after recording a finding on that issue.”
The revision was filed to contest the Family Court’s order awarding interim maintenance to the wife under the proviso to Section 125 of the Cr.P.C. The husband argued that, during the Section 125 Cr.P.C. proceedings, he had explicitly claimed that the wife was involved in adultery. Accordingly, under Section 125(4) Cr.P.C., he maintained that she was not entitled to receive either interim or final maintenance.
Section 125(4) of the Cr.P.C. reads, “No wife shall be entitled to receive an [allowance for the maintenance or the interim maintenance and expenses of proceeding, as the case may be,] from her husband under this section if she is living in adultery, or if, without any sufficient reason, she refuses to live with her husband, or if they are living separately by mutual consent.”
The High Court, after reviewing Section 125(4) of the Cr.P.C., held that when a specific allegation of adultery is raised against the wife, the court handling the Section 125 matter must first resolve this issue. Only after making a determination on the allegation can interim maintenance be awarded.
Consequently, the Court observed, “This Court prima facie finds that the exercise as required under Section 125(4) Cr.P.C. is completely missing in the matter and without recording any finding on the issue of adultery, the impugned order dated 13.4.2023 has been passed whereby interim maintenance amounting Rs.7,000/- has been awarded in favour of Opposite Party.”
Consequently, the High Court scheduled the matter for further hearing on November 25, 2024.
