Maintenance awarded by the Family Court must not exceed one-third of the paying spouse's income, considering their financial capacity and the needs of the dependents.

ORDER :

T Mallikarjuna Rao, J.

1. The Criminal Revision Case, under Section 397 and 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short, ‘Cr.P.C.') is filed on behalf of the petitioner/respondent assailing the order dated 14.08.2018 passed in F.C.M.C. No.22 of 2017 on the file of the learned IV Additional District Judge- cum-Family Court, Kurnool, (for short, ‘the Family Court’) whereby petition was partly allowed by granting maintenance filed under Section 125 Cr.P.C., by the petitioners 2 and 3 (children) therein.

2. For the sake of convenience, the parties to this Criminal Revision Case will hereinafter be referred to as described before the Family Court.

3. The petitioners, being the respondent’s wife and children, filed a petition before the Family Court under Section 125 of the Cr.P.C. in F.C.M.C.No.22 of 2017 seeking maintenance.

4. The brief facts of the petition are as follows:

The 1^st petitioner is the legally wedded wife of the respondent, and petitioners 2 and 3 are their minor children. At the time of marriage, her parents paid Rs.1,00,000/- as dowry, gave gold ornaments weighing eight thulas and spent another Rs.1,00,000/- towards marriage expenses and household articles. After marriage, the respondent demanded an additional dowry of Rs.1,00,000/- and harassed her, including beating her with a sugar cane stick. When she was in the 9^th month of pregnancy, he kicked her on the stomach, necessitating treatment at Hyderabad costing Rs.55,000/-, paid by her brother. At the time of delivery of the 3^rd petitioner, her brother again spent Rs.50,000/-. Despite resuming cohabitation, harassment continued, resulting in a fracture to her left hand in 2005. The respondent threatened to kill her and the children, failed to provide school books to petitioners 2 and 3, and again demanded Rs.1,00,000/- for the construction of the first floor, threatening her if she failed to bring the amount. Due to continuous threats, she has been living separately with her children in another portion of the same house since June 2013. Initially, the respondent provided some maintenance, but later completely neglected them. He is addicted to gambling, liquor and womanizing. Mediation efforts by her parents failed. The 1^st petitioner is a housewife with health issues, dependent on her financially weak, aged parents. The respondent is a gazetted Head Master earning Rs.60,000/- per month, besides rental income of Rs.30,000/- and other property income. The petitioners claim monthly maintenance of Rs.20,000/- for the 1^st petitioner and Rs.10,000/- each for petitioners 2 and 3, totalling Rs.40,000/-.

5. The respondent filed a counter, denying all the allegations, and contending that 1^st petitioner though educated, never treated him as a husband, suspected his chastity and frequently quarreled with him; she does not do any work and has been living separately since 2013, without informing him; after their separation, he has been residing at Shareen Nagar, Kurnool with his 76-year-old mother, who suffers from diabetes and heart ailments, and he spends Rs.12,000/- on her medical needs; he also incurs Rs.5,000/- per month for his own diabetic treatment and Rs.2,500/- for cooking expenses. He further contends that his mother has undergone bypass surgery; 1^st petitioner has already been granted Rs.8,000/- per month as maintenance in D.V.C.No.30/2014 by the Special Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Kurnool; 1^st petitioner is a Post-Graduate in Arts and a Graduate in Education, presently working in a private degree college and earning Rs.15,000/- per month; hence, she is not entitled to further maintenance and the petition