Maintenance under Section 125, Cr. P. C., can be awarded from the date of the petition or from the date of the order, at the discretion of the court, and there is no requirement to record special reasons for awarding maintenance from the date of the petition. Maintenance to minor children can be awarded only up to the age of majority, and maintenance cannot be awarded to major children unless they are physically or mentally disabled.

The husband is the revision petitioner. He filed this revision against the Judgement of the Court of the IInd Addl. Munsiff Magistrate, Ongole in M. C. No. 8/1982. The facts of the case are that the petitioner herein is a handicapped person having lost both his legs due to polio. He is working as an Officer in the Accountant General's Office at Hyderabad. He married the respondent No. 1 in the month of December, 1969 who is a deaf and dumb lady, out of sympathy to the handicapped persons. Thereafter they lived amicably and happily. Respondent No. 2 is the elder daughter born to them on 9-4-1972. Respondent No. 3 is the younger daughter born to them on 27-7-1974, and the family lived happily up to the year 1982. Thereafter, it is the case of the respondents that they were thrown out by the petitioner from his house on 17-6-1982 by giving them Rs. 70/- and asking them to go to the parents house of respondent No. 1. Accordingly, they went there and there they lived. Thus, they have been neglected to be maintained by the petitioner who is having sufficient means and that they have no means to maintain themselves, therefore, they filed the petition. The petitioner herein filed a counter and denied the allegations stating that there is no refusal or negligence on the part of the petitioner. On behalf of the respondents PWs 1 and 2 were examined. PW 1 is the elder daughter of the petitioner and the 1st respondent. PW 2 is the sister's husband of the 1st respondent. The respondent is M. C. himself, i. e. , the husband petitioner herein, was examined as RW 1. The petitioner in M. C. Marked Exs. P-1 to P-7 and the respondent-husband marked Exs. D-1 to D-52. The Court below after considering the entire material evidence on record, awarded Rs. 300/- per month towards maintenance of the 1st respondent and Rs. 150/- each to the respondent Nos. 2 and 3 per month. The above said maintenance is ordered from the next day of the filing of the petition. Against that order, the present revision is filed.

2. It is mainly contended that there is no negligence or refusal to maintain the respondents by the petitioner-husband and this is clear from the admission by the 1st respondent-wife herself in Ex. D-42 deposition of the wife in O. P. No. 75/84 that there was no neglect or refusal. It is to be noted that the very ground in the petition under S. 125, Crl. P. C. is that they were thrown out and thereafter, they were not maintained. PW 1 who is admittedly the daughter of the 1st respondent and the petitioner herein, was aged about II years on the date of the examination before the Court. She was put to questions by the Court to find out whether she was able to understand the questions. The Lower Court found that she is quite intelligent to understand the questions and answers. In her deposition, she stated that her father was residing at Secunderabad and the mother is dumb, and she stated that the father started ill-treating her mother and used to beat her with belt and used to threaten her and then that he would throw them into a well and they have been knocked out from the house by giving Rs. 70/- and asking them to go away. Therefore, they went to the mother's place of the 1st respondent at Ongole. She also stated that the petitioner has sent Rs. 200/- by way of money order, but the same was returned, she stated that the same was informed to the father but he did not take them. She stated that her paternal grand mother and her father's brother have foisted a case by telling a cock and bull story that her father is working as a Section Officer in the Accountant General's Office at Hyderabad. She is studying pre-matric at Guntur Santha College. She has stated that the father is earning Rs. 1,500/- per month. Hence, they filed a petition for maintenance seeking Rs. 300/- per month for the 1st respondent, Rs. 150/- each per month to the respondent Nos. 2 and 3. She stated that the father had deserted the mother.