IN THE HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH
CHANDRA BHUSHAN BAJPAI, J.
Sangeeta Sarthi w/o Shri Dhananjay Sarthi –Appellant
Versus
Dhananjay Sarthi S/o Shri Patanga Ram Sarthi – Respondent
Criminal Revision No. 888 of 2015
Decided on : 05-05-2016
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 - Section 127 – Alteration in allowance - Seeking enhancement of Maintenance - Trial Court directed to pay maintenance of Rs. 1,000/- per month to Applicant by Respondent - Applicant has preferred instant criminal revision wherein it is prayed summarily that since said application was filed under Section 127 of Code before Court below, she is not responsible for delay and also Court below appreciated in paragraph 9 of order regarding cost of living as shoot up more than 10 times it would be appropriate to make effective order from date of presentation of Application and as trial Court had not given any reason as to why it is allowing application from date of order - Held, This Court cannot accept arguments advanced that for making the order functional and operative, scope of Sections 125 and 127 of Code are distinguishable. Looking to the price index and other facts, Court below did not assign any reason - On other hand, when matter is pending before Court below for about 7 years without any fault on part of Applicant and even otherwise if matter would have been disposed of within a very short span, even then Applicant would have got fruits of order from date of the order - Looking to entire facts and circumstances and in considered view of this Court, impugned order in regard to grant of enhanced amount of maintenance deserves to be made functional/operative from date of filing of application - Criminal revision is allowed.
Shri Chandra Bhushan Bajpai, J.
With the consent of both the parties, the matter is heard finally at the motion stage itself.
2. Facts in brief required for adjudication of the instant criminal revision are that vide order dated 27.4.2005 in M.Cr.C. No. 53 of 2005 the trial Court directed to pay maintenance of Rs. 1,000/- per month to the Applicant by the Respondent. Thereafter, the present Applicant had filed M.J.C. No. 33 of 2009 under Section 127 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short 'the Code') for enhancement of the maintenance allowance before the Second Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Raipur, Chhattisgarh. The Second Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Raipur, vide order dated 12.8.2015, allowed the said application filed by the Applicant and directed the Respondent to pay Rs. 3,500/- per month from the date of the order as maintenance allowance. As the order passed by the Court below is effective from the date of the order, the Applicant has preferred the instant criminal revision wherein it is prayed summarily that since the said application was filed under Section 127 of the Code before the Court below on 24.11.2008, she is not responsible for the delay and also the Court below appreciated in paragraph 9 of the order regarding cost of living as shoot up more than 10 times it would be appropriate to make effective order from the date of presentation of the Application and as the trial Court had not given any reason as to why it is allowing the application from the date of order. In absence of any such appreciation, looking to the appreciation made in paragraph 9 of the order passed by the Court below, it is prayed that the instant criminal revision may be allowed and the order dated 12.8.2015 be made operational and effective since the date of the presentation of the application i.e. from 24.11.2008.
3. On behalf of the Respondent, a written response/objection has been filed wherein it is submitted that the Applicant is working as a Computer Instructor and making sufficient earnings from that job. The order passed by the Court below regarding enhancement of maintenance allowance from the date of the order cannot be said to be improper. It is further submitted that as per settled law, Section 127 of the Code is distinguishable from the provisions made in Section 125 of the Code and, therefore, he further submitted that the Applicant has not claimed the enhancement of maintenance allowance with effect from the date of presentation of her application. Hence, the same is not liable to be considered before this Court and the application filed on behalf of the Applicant may be dismissed.
4. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record.
5. Learned counsel for the Applicant submits that the Respondent had filed Criminal Revision No. 846 of 2015 against the impugned order with a prayer to set aside the order passed by the Court below. Vide order dated 7.10.2015, this Court dismissed the criminal revision filed by the Respondent and thereby the order dated 12.8.2015 passed by the Court below attains finality for the moment. It is further submitted that filing of the application itself makes it clear that the maintenance allowance which is granted earlier be enhanced from the date of filing of the said application. Learned counsel further submits that the appreciation made by the Court below in paragraph 9 of its order, which was not otherwise altered or disturbed by this Court while passing the order in Criminal Revision No. 846 of 2015 dated 7.10.2015, shows that the cost of living has shoot up for more than 10 times during the last 10 years. The Court below enhanced the maintenance amount for 3.5 times only the order of maintenance allowance passed on 27.4.2005 and the application for enhancement of the maintenance amount has been filed after more than 3½ years. Looking to the entire facts, the Court below ought to have directed for payment of the enhanced a
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