Interim maintenance under Section 125 of CrPC is determined by assessing the financial capacity of both parties, ensuring the applicant's reasonable living standard during legal proceedings.

JUDGMENT :

BIBEK CHAUDHURI, J.

1. Cr. Revision No. 799 of 2024 and Cr.Revision No. 311 of 2024 challenged the same order of interim maintenance, passed by the learned Principal Judge, Family Court at Patna in Maintenance Case No. 35(M) of 2020, whereby and whereunder, the learned Principal Judge, Family Court, granted interim maintenance in favour of the wife (Petitioner of Cr. Revision No. 799 of 2024) at the rate of Rs. 35,000/- per month along with one time litigation cost of Rs. 25,000/- within 6^th day of each successive month from the date of the order, dated 6^th of March, 2024. While the husband has challenged the said order of interim maintenance by filing Cr. Revision No. 311 of 2024 on the ground that he does not have financial capability to pay such huge amount of money to his wife as interim maintenance allowance, the wife/petitioner has filed another Criminal Revision registered as Cr. Revision No. 799 of 2024, claiming interim maintenance at higher rate than which has been passed by the learned Principal Judge.

Reg:- Cr. Rev. 799 of 2024

2. Brief fact of the case is that the marriage was solemnized between the Petitioner and Jitendra Sharma on 24^th of February, 2012 as per Hindu rites and rituals and then the petitioner went to her matrimonial house, where she stayed for some days and thereafter, she went to Aligarh, Delhi, Gurugram and foreign countries, namely, South Korea, France and Singapore etc. along with her husband Jitendra Sharma. But subsequently, the Petitioner saw a drastic change in the behaviour of the her husband, who allegedly started torturing her. The Petitioner was subjected to physical, mental, verbal and emotional cruelty by her husband and his family members. Petitioner's family gave cash, gold jewellery, utensils, expensive clothes, customary and traditional gifts, donations etc., to the husband and his family during the marriage and on several occasions after the marriage. Despite this, they kept on demanding money to buy a flat in Delhi. After marriage, the husband and his family frequently demanded money. The petitioner was subjected to various forms of cruelties and tortures by her husband and his family members for non-fulfillment of dowry demands. For not conceding to their immoral demands and not being an ally in their illegal criminal activities, the Petitioner was being insulted, abused and tortured by her husband and his family members not only privately but also in presence of the parents, relatives, friends of both parties and staff by saying that friends of her husband were given more dowry and gifts than him.

3. Since July 2018, the petitioner's husband has deserted her and stopped providing maintenance to her and also misappropriated the jewellery, money, gold and silver articles and goods of the petitioner causing wrongful loss to her. It is stated that after some dispute, generated between them, the petitioner has been ousted from his husband's home and, thereafter, she has been living separately without any assistance from her husband as maintenance since August, 2018.

4. Petitioner’s husband is a man of means, is highly educated, is employed, and has the ability and capacity to maintain the petitioner. He is a graduate and done his B.Tech & M.Tech course from IIT, Delhi and has been working in a well-known, reputed oil company in France named 'TOTAL' since 2008. He has worked in this organization at different places of posting such as Yemen, South Korea, Singapore, Paris, Angola etc. His initial sala