JUDGMENT - D.M. REGE, J.:---This criminal revision application has come up before this Full Bench on a reference by the Division Bench (Dharmadhikari and Puranik, JJ.) since on the question involved in this application, it disagreed with the view taken by this Court in its decision by earlier Division Bench (Shah and Kanade, JJ.) in the case of (Balirao v. Tolanbai)l, 1979 Bom.C.R. 545 : 1979 Mh.LJ. 693 and thought the same required reconsideration.

2. The question involved, shortly, was :---

Whether a Hindu woman, whose marriage was null and void under section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, by reason of contravention of section 5(i) of the said Act, viz. the person with whom she had undergone a marriage had a wife living at the time of the said marriage was entitled to claim maintenance under section 125 of Code of Criminal Procedure from such a person on the basis that she was his wife.

3. Few basic facts, not in dispute, are :---

The marriage of the petitioner-Yamunabai with the respondent No. 1 was performed on 16-6-1974 after undergoing necessary rites under the Hindu law, which was the personal law of the parties. The said marriage was also registered as required under

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