The court's discretion in determining the reasonable amount of maintenance pendente lite under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act should not be curtailed by importing principles from the Indian Divorce Act, and the calculation of the husband's net income should consider compulsory deductions but exclude voluntary contributions.

B.C. Chakrabarti, J.

This is a husband's appeal against an order of maintenance pendente lite and costs of litigation awarded in favour of the wife in a suit for judicial separation brought by the husband, being Matrimonial Suit No. 19 of 1973 of the 5th Court of Additional District Judge at Alipore.

2. The wife filed the application under S. 24 of the Hindu' Marriage Act claiming Rs. 2000/- per month as maintenance pendente lite and a sum of Rs. 2,500/- provisionally towards expenses of the litigation. She alleged that she had no independent, source of income, that she bas been deserted by her husband and was forced to live in her father's family, that the average monthly income of the husband is Rs. 30,000/- per month from his salary and allowances, that besides the said sum he has also other income derived from securities and interest from bank deposits. Having regard to the status of the parties and their living standard and also the financial capability of the husband, she claimed the sum aforesaid towards maintenance and expenses. It was further alleged that she had to incur considerable expenses towards litigation for she has to come all the way from Luknow where she is at present residing in her father's family, to defend the suit.

3. The respondent admittedly is employed as General Manager (Works), under Messrs Shalimar Wire Industries Ltd., Calcutta. His case is that the respondent wife has independent source of income which is more than adequate for her needs. She has money in Savings Bank Accounts and earns interest therefrom. The petitioner husband purchased shares of different reputed companies in the name of the wife the market value of which would be about Rs.9,000/-. She earns dividends from such shares. The respondent while leaving the matrimonial borne took away with her jewellery worth about Rs. 30,000/- and other valuables worth about Rs. 15,000/-. If the said articles and shares are converted into money and properly invested it can fetch an income around Rs. 8,000/- per annum. As regards his own ability the case of the husband is that he gets a sum of about Rs. 1,417/- per month at an average after deductions made by the petitioner's employer on account of income-tax, Provident Fund, House rent Insurance etc. He has also to pay for the educational expenses of his younger brother and has to render occasional help to his aged parents. In such circumstances the husband alleged that the claim of the wife was highly excessive, arbitrary and untenable.

4. At the hearing of the application the father of the wire examined himself, the respondent due to illness being unable to attend the Court. On the side of the appellant the husband examined himself besides another witness who claimed to have attended the marriage ceremony of the parties. The husband also furnished a statement of accounts indicating roughly his average income.

5. The learned Additional District Judge found upon a consideration of the evidence that the wife had two Savings bank accounts with the Central Bank of India, Ballyganj. Calcutta, and the United Commercial Bank, Ganesh Chandra Avenue, Calcutta in her name. The amounts to her credit in the said accounts come to Rs.1,750.10 and Rs. 1,353.87 respectively. The accounts however, were not operated since the wife left Calcutta. The allegation that the wife had taken with her valuable Jewellery worth Rs. 30,000/- and other articles worth Rs. 15,000/- besides the shares standing in her name have all been denied. The learned Judge observed that these allegations made by the husband have not been satisfactory proved. Accordingly the learned Judge found that she has no independent source of income and that she was being maintained by her father who in his turn was being assisted financially by his sons living abroad. The learned Judge determined the liability of the husband to pay maintenance at the rate of Rs.500/- per month and also Rs. 500/- provisionally towards the expenses of the litigatio