IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Rajnish Bhatnagar, J.
Manish Kumar – Appellant
Versus
The State & Anr. – Respondents
Crl.Rev.P. 284 of 2023 & Crl.M.A. 7066 of 2023
Decided On : 04-08-2023
Maintenance - Family Law - Section 125 Cr.P.C - 397/401 read with Section 482 Cr.P.C - 13.12.2022
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner filed a petition to set aside the order for ad-interim maintenance, arguing that he is not obligated to maintain the respondent as he is not the biological or natural father of the respondent. The respondent's mother had made unreasonable financial demands and filed a false FIR against the petitioner.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the impugned order was an interlocutory order and dismissed the revision petition, stating that no revision lies against an interlocutory order.
Issues: The issues revolved around the petitioner's obligation to pay ad-interim maintenance and the nature of the relationship between the petitioner and the respondent.
Ratio Decidendi: The court's decision was based on the finding that the impugned order was interlocutory and therefore not subject to revision.
Final Decision: The revision petition was dismissed, and the other contentions raised by the petitioner were deemed beyond the scope of the petition.
JUDGMENT
Rajnish Bhatnagar, J. The present petition has been filed by petitioner under Section 397/401 read with Section 482 Cr.P.C for setting aside/quashing the impugned order dated 13.12.2022 passed by Ld. Judge, Family Court-02, South West, Dwarka, New Delhi, by virtue of which, the petitioner herein was directed to pay ad-interim maintenance @ of Rs.2000/- per month till further order.
2. It is submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the petition filed by the respondent no.2 under Section 125 Cr.P.C is not maintainable as the petitioner had never married the mother of the respondent no.2 and no document with regard to marriage of mother of respondent no.2 with the petitioner had been filed on record and even the date of marriage was not disclosed in the maintenance petition filed below. It is further submitted that the learned Family Court has failed to appreciate that the petitioner is not the biological or the natural father of respondent no.2 and the respondent no.2 does not fall under the category of legitimate/illegitimate child of the petitioner, therefore, the petitioner is under no obligation to maintain the respondent no.2.
3. It is further submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the mother of respondent no.2 had filed an FIR bearing no.287/2020 under Section 376 IPC and in her statement she had stated that petitioner had committed the alleged offence on 11.08.2019 and whereas as per the MLC annexed with the charge sheet, the date of LMP of mother of respondent no.2 is 26.08.2019 which clearly shows that mother of respondent no.2 was not pregnant and the mother of respondent no.2 cooked up a false story.
4. It is further submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the mother of respondent no.2 had made unreasonable financial demands from the petitioner and when the petitioner was unable to fulfil those demands, the above-mentioned false and frivolous FIR was registered. It is further submitted that the mother of respondent no.2 had purchased two properties from the amount received by her from the petitioner, one in Jaipur and other in Bihar wherein mother of respondent no.2 had disclosed the name of her husband as Dheeraj Jha and not that of the petitioner herein who is Manish Kumar, so it is argued that as per the mother of respondent no.2 the petitioner is neither biological nor natural father of respondent no. 2.
5. It is further submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that since the petitioner was unable to file the written statement before the Family Court and more time was sought, the learned Judge, Family Court without any rhyme or reason granted ad-interim maintenance @ of Rs.2000/- per month till further orders.
6. In the instant case, the State is respondent no.1 and is a proforma party and no relief has been claimed against respondent no.1, so there was no occasion for the State to address the arguments or file any reply in this regard. However, the counsel appearing for the respondent no.2 at the outset submitted that the order under challenge in the present petition is an interlocutory order and the revision against an interlocutory order is not maintainable.
7. It is further submitted by the learned counsel for the respondent no.2 that all the contentions raised by the counsel for the petitioner are disputed questions of facts and law and would require evidence. It is further submitted that the learned Family Court has only awarded a sum of Rs.2000/- per month which is a meagre amount as an interim measure for the minor child.
8. The order under challenge in the present petition is the order dated 13.12.2022 which reads as follows:
"Respondent seeks some more time for filing reply with say that due to death in the family of counsel WS could not be filed.
Let WS/reply be filed within four weeks with advance copy to opposite party, who shall be at liberty to file replication on NDOH.
Ld. Counsel for petitioner request for grant of ad-interi
The main legal point established is that no revision lies against an interlocutory order.
Husband liable for maintenance; interim order set aside for fresh hearing on merits after arrears deposit.
The court upheld the principle of providing interim maintenance based on the financial means of the parties involved, pending the final decision on the maintenance petition.
An order granting interim maintenance under Section 125 CrPC is an interlocutory order and not revisable.
Acknowledgment of paternity without contesting the validity of marriage can support maintenance claims under Section 125 Cr.P.C.
The Family Court has jurisdiction to strike off defense for non-payment of maintenance, and maintenance awarded is reasonable for an able-bodied person.
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