( 1 ) THE revision petitioner is the husband of the first respondent. The first respondent-wife filed M. C. No. 4 of 1995 on the file of the Judicial Magistrate of First class, Yellareddy against the husband seeking monthly maintenance of Rs. 500/ -. The learned Judicial Magistrate of First Class dismissed the said petition.

( 2 ) AGGRIEVED by the same, the first respondent-wife filed Criminal Revision petition No. 8 of 1997 on the file of the sessions Court at Nizamabad. By his order, dated 31st July, 2001, the learned sessions Judge allowed the revision, set aside the order of the learned Magistrate and allowed the M. C. granting monthly maintenance of Rs. 500/ -. Aggrieved by the said order, the husband filed the present revision petition.

( 3 ) FOR convenience of reference, the petitioner will be hereinafter referred to as the husband and the first respondent as the wife.

( 4 ) THE case of the wife is that her marriage was solemnized about 5 years prior to April, 1995. She joined her husband after marriage and lived happily with him for about 4 years. No children are born out of the wedlock. Therefore, her husband and parents-in-law began to harass and ill-treat her. While so, her mother brought her to the house of her parents for Ekadasi festival. Thereafter, the husband did not visit her nor showed any interest to take her back. Her father wrote four letters through the caste men to her husband within two months before issuing legal notice, dated 15-3-1995, but the letters and the legal notice were returned unserved. Her father accompanied by six caste elders approached her husband and his parents and a panchayath was also held. Even then they did not evince any interest to take her back. She came to know that her husband was going to marry one U. Pochavva, daughter of Pentaiah and therefore she got issued a legal notice dated 15-3-1995 to her husband and also the said Pochavva. The notice sent to the husband was returned and Pochavva refused to receive the said notice. Thus, she was willfully and intentionally neglected by her husband. The husband has 20 acres of wet land with two bore-wells and three wells therein, two residential houses, three pairs of bullocks, 20 cows and 4 she-buffaloes. Therefore, she is claiming Rs. 500/- per month towards maintenance.

( 5 ) THE case of the husband briefly set-forth is as under : at the time of marriage his wife was a minor. She was hardly 15 years of age as on the date of filing counter i. e. , on 30-11-1995. She attained puberty before dasara Festival of 1995. The marriage was not consummated and she has been staying with her parents only, as she is a minor. Hence, the question of ill-treatment or harassment by the husband or his parents does not arise. No letters were addressed to him by his father-in-law. His father-in-law never approached him or his parents. The allegation that he tried to marry u. Pochavva is false. He has no immovable or movable properties. He himself is a boy aged 17 years, a minor and he is dependent on his parents for his livelihood. The marriage itself is void since both the spouses were minors at the time of marriage and it was never consummated. Despite all this he is willing to maintain his wife in order to discharge his conjugal duties. In the year 1989 his father-in-law obtained a loan of Rs. 4,000/- from his father agreeing to repay the same with interest, but failed to repay the same. When himself and his father demanded his father-in-law to repay the amount, the maintenance case is filed with false allegations.

( 6 ) ON behalf of the wife, 4 witnesses were examined, including herself as P. W. 1 and 7 documents were marked as Exs. P. 1 to P. 7, while on behalf of the husband 2 witnesses R. Ws. 1 and 2 were examined, including himself as R. W. 1.

( 7 ) AS already stated, the trial Court dismissed the petition and the Sessions Court reversed the decision of the trial Court and granted maintenance of Rs. 500/- per month.

( 8 ) THE points that are u

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