RANGANATH MISRA, L.M.SHARMA
Yamunabai Anantrao Adhav – Appellant
Versus
Anantrao Shivram Adhav – Respondent
Certainly. Based on the provided legal document, here are the key points:
A marriage solemnized in accordance with Hindu rites where one spouse is already married and has a living spouse is considered null and void from its inception under the law (!) (!) .
The marriage of the appellant, who married a man with a living lawful wife, is deemed null and void, and therefore, she does not qualify as a "wife" under the relevant legal provisions (!) (!) .
The term "wife" in the context of Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code is understood to mean only a legally wedded wife, i.e., one who is recognized as such under the law (!) (!) .
The section's intent is to provide maintenance rights to women who are legally recognized as wives, and this does not extend to women in marriages that are null and void from the start (!) (!) .
Personal law applicable to the parties must be considered to determine the status of the woman, and a woman married in contravention of the law cannot claim the status of a wife for maintenance purposes (!) (!) .
The appellant's marriage, being in violation of the law due to her husband's existing lawful marriage, is invalid, and she is not entitled to maintenance under Section 125 (!) (!) .
The interpretation of "wife" should align with the legal understanding applicable to the parties, and the appellant's claim for maintenance was rightly dismissed based on the marriage's nullity (!) (!) .
The court emphasized that the marriage's validity is determined by law, and the appellant's claim was dismissed because her marriage was null and void from its inception (!) (!) .
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Judgment
SHARMA, J. :- The point involved in this appeal is whether a Hindu woman who is married after coming into force of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 to a Hindu male having a living lawfully wedded wife can maintain an application for maintenance under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the Code). The appellant Smt. Yamunabai was factually married to respondent No. 1 Anantrao Shivram Adhav by observance of rites under Hindu Law in June, 1974. Anantrao had earlier married one Smt. Lilabai who was alive and the marriage was subsisting in 1974. The appellant lived with the respondent No. 1 for a week and thereafter left the house alleging ill-treatment. She made an application for maintenance in 1976 which was dismissed. The matter was taken to the Bombay High Court, where the case was heard by a Full Bench, and was decided against the appellant by the impugned judgment.
2. Section 125 of the Code by sub-section (1) which reads as follows clothes the "wife" with the right to receive maintenance in a summary proceeding under the Code :-
"125(l). If any person having sufficient means neglects or refuses to maintain
(a) his wife, unable to main
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