The central legal point established in the judgment is the entitlement to maintenance under the Portuguese Civil Code and Section 125 of Cr.P.C. for a major daughter's educational expenses.

JUDGMENT

M S Jawalkar, J. - The present Criminal Revision Application is filed under Section 397 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr.P.C., for short) against the impugned order dated 04.05.2021 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Mapusa in Criminal Revision Application No. 13 of 2021. By the impugned judgment, the learned Additional Sessions Judge has set aside the order dated 14.01.2020, passed by the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Bicholim in Case No. MTA/1/2019/A, granting interim maintenance of Rs. 10,000/- to respondent no. 1 (applicant no. 1 herein) towards educational expenses.

2. The brief facts necessary for disposal of the present Criminal Revision Application may be stated thus:- The applicant no. 1 is the daughter of applicant no. 2 and the respondent. It is stated by applicant no. 1 that since her birth, she is staying with her mother i.e. applicant no. 2. It is stated that through applicant no. 2, applicant no. 1 had filed Maintenance Case No. 04/1999 before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Panaji against the respondent, which was allowed and the respondent was directed to pay to the applicant no. 1 through applicant no. 2, an amount of Rs.500/- per month till she attained the age of majority. It is stated that the respondent has stopped paying the said maintenance of Rs.500/- from March 2017 on the ground that the applicant no. 1 has attained majority. It is stated that the applicant no. 1 has attained majority in May 2017 and presently, she is 22 years of age.

3. It is further stated that the applicant no. 1 since the academic year 2018 till date is studying in the Institute College of Non Conventional and Vocational Courses for women at Kolhapur and as such, she is residing in the hostel/rented premises at Kolhapur for which, the monthly expenditure is about Rs. 7,000/- per month.

4. It is stated that all these years, the entire expenses of education of applicant no. 1 was borne by applicant no. 2. It is stated that applicant no. 1 is legally entitled for maintenance as she has no other source of income. Therefore, the applicant no. 1 preferred an application for maintenance under Section 125 of Cr.P.C along with Maintenance Application No. 1/2019/A for interim maintenance before the Judicial Magistrate First Class at Bicholim, which was allowed by order dated 14.01.2020, whereby the respondent was directed to pay an amount of Rs.10,000/- per month to the applicant no. 1 towards her educational expenses.

5. The respondent challenged the said order dated 14.01.2020 passed by the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Bicholim before the learned Additional Sessions Judge at Mapusa in Criminal Revision Application No. 13/2021.

The learned Additional Sessions Judge observed that the applicant no. 1 is a major daughter of the respondent and there is nothing placed on record to show that the applicant no. 1 is having mental or physical abnormality or injury so as to unable to maintain herself and set aside the order dated 14.01.2020 passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate vide order dated 04.05.2021. Aggrieved by the said order dated 04.05.2021 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge at Mapusa, the applicants are before this Court in the present Criminal Revision Application.

6. Heard Mr. Singbal, the learned Counsel for the applicants and Mr. Sequeira, the learned Counsel for the respondent at length.

7. It is submitted by Mr. Singbal, the learned Counsel for the applicants that the applicant no. 1 is entitled for maintenance as per the Portuguese Civil Code prevalent in Goa. It is submitted that it is not specified in Article 179 of Portuguese Civil Code that the maintenance ceases upon the child attaining majority. It is submitted that majority is defined in Article 311 of Portuguese Civil Code as is conferred on attaining 21 years of age without distinction of sex. It is submitted that provisions of Section 125 of Cr.P.C have to be interpreted harmoniously and in consonance with the entitlement