The main legal point established in the judgment is that a widowed daughter-in-law is entitled to maintenance from her father-in-law under Section 19 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, only when she fulfills the statutory conditions and proves her inability to obtain maintenance from other sources.

JUDGMENT

Manindra Mohan Shrivastava, J. - This appeal is directed against order dated 14.08.2019 passed by the Family Court Janjgir Champa, by which, appellant''s application for grant of maintenance under Section 19 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 has been rejected.

2. The appellant was married to one Ashok Singh, who died on 22.02.2018. Immediately after death, she left the matrimonial house and started residing with her father and thereafter moved an application for grant of maintenance of Rs.50,000/- against father-in-law and mother-in-law on 17.07.2018, on pleadings inter alia that after the death of her husband, she has become destitute and unable to maintain herself, she has no source of income, she has no property from which, she could earn her livelihood. It was further pleaded that father-in-law and mother-in-law are possessed of coparcenary property, out of which, they are earning Rs.30,00,000/- per year. It was also pleaded that sons of the father-in-law namely Santosh Singh and Rakesh Singh are also earning. Further, pleading was that as she was not earning herself, she is residing with her father and dependent on him and thus maintaining herself.

3. The application was opposed by stating that the respondent/ father-in-law is an old aged person, he himself is dependent on his sons and is not in a position to maintain the daughter-in-law.

4. The parties led their respective evidence, both oral and documentary on specific issues as to whether father-in-law was possessed of joint family property, out of which, no share has been given to deceased son Ashok Singh and therefore, whether the widowed daughter-in-law is entitled to maintenance.

5. Upon appreciation of oral and documentary evidence on record, learned Lower Court rejected the application stating that father-in-law has no means to maintain the daughter-in-law.

6. Aggrieved by the said judgment and decree, learned counsel for the appellant argued that the judgment of the Court below suffers from inherent contradiction.

7. Elaborating his submission, learned counsel for the appellant would argue that even though, learned Court below recorded specific finding in the order that the father-in-law is possessed of coparcenary property and the daughter-in-law has not received any share out of that property, has rejected the application. He would submit that necessary jurisdictional facts entitling the appellant to receive a maintenance as mandated under Section 19 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 (for short ''the Act of 1956'') were pleaded in the application and also deposed in the affidavit. Therefore, in these circumstances, the appellant was entitled to appropriate maintenance from the father-in-law. Reliance has been placed on the judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the case of Jal Kaur W/O Sadhu Singh Vs. Pala Singh S/O Budh Singh, (1961) AIR(P&H) 391 .

8. Learned counsel for the respondent opposes and submits that the Court below has rightly rejected the application because it was found that the father-in-law is an old and aged person about 70 years and he himself deposed that he is dependent on his sons. No specific pleadings have been made that the appellant is not getting any maintenance from her father and mother and on the contrary, in the pleadings, it has been stated that she is being maintained by her father. Therefore, in these circumstances, no statutory liability can be fastened on the father-in-law.

9. We have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the records.

10. Under the statutory scheme of Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, a widowed daughter-in-law is entitled to maintenance from her father-in-law under Section 19 thereof. The relevant provision, casting statutory obligation on the father-in-law is extracted herein below :

"S.19. Maintenance of widowed daughter-in-law- (1) A Hindu wife, whether married before or after the commencement of this Act, shall be entitled to be maintain